Petrol and diesel prices are expected to go up further to ¢18 cedis and ¢20 per litre by middle of November 2022, the Institute for Energy Security has predicted.

It is also projecting a further increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas despite a 1.43% fall in the commodity on the world market.  

Fuel prices went up twice in the month of October 2022, as some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are selling petrol at ¢16.94, whilst diesel is going for ¢18.76.

“The Institute for Energy Security (IES) recognises the recent price increases by all OMCs monitored, and predicts that prices will see a further rise for all OMCs by end of the new pricing window on account of the significant depreciation of the cedi against the US dollar, and to some extent, the appreciable increase in gasoil price on the international fuel market”.

“In IES’ estimation, gasoil’s [diesel] price per litre is set to break the ¢20.00 mark, with a gallon price possibly going for c90.00 on the market. gasoline [petrol] price may also inch close to Gh¢18 per litre by mid-November 2022”, it stressed.

Again, it said “unfortunately, the 1.43% fall in the price of LPG on the world market may not translate into a reduction at the domestic pump, as it may offset cedi's depreciation, and rather force the price of the commodity to rise further in the coming days”.

Cedi depreciates significantly

Per the IES Economic Desk’s analysis of the foreign exchange (forex) market over the last two weeks, it said the cedi, continues to lose stability against the US dollar in significant terms.

The cedi, it stated, depreciated by a whopping 32% from the previous rate of ¢10.89 to the current rate of ¢14.42, to the US dollar.

Current fuel prices

The IES said the current figures at the pumps suggest the national average price per litre of petrol is ¢16.94, up from ¢11.05 in the last window, representing a significant increase of 53%.

The national average price per litre of diesel also jumped to ¢18.76, from ¢13.98. This represented an increase of 34%.

In the pricing window under review, the IES market scan picked Petrosol, Engen, Sel, and Compass Oleum as OMCs with the highest-priced fuel on the market.