THE prices of all the major petroleum products in the country have been reduced with effect from Friday, February 01, 2008, as a result of a drop in the prices of crude oil on the international market.From 106.6GHp a litre, premium petrol will now sell at 102GHp while that of gas oil now stands at 101.6GHp from 104GHp per litre.The price of kerosene has also dropped from 94.2GHp to 92.5GHp with premix fuel, the fuel used by fishermen, also selling at 70.2GHp, down from 73.8GHp per litre.The reduction as gazetted by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), though marginal, is expected to bring some relief to consumers after paying more for the products since the beginning of the year.The prices of crude oil on the international market have been very unstable since the middle of last year, with oil prices hitting an all-time high of $100 per barrel.Crude oil prices fell to $90 a barrel five days ago, as weaker global stock markets spurred profit taking, although there were expectations that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would resist pressure to raise output" this week.US light, sweet crude for March delivery slid 71 cents to $90.00 a barrel after falling to as low as $89.77. Prices gained 14 cents last week after clawing back from a six-week low-of $86.11 a barrel.Brent crude in London traded down 60 cents at $90.30 a barrel."Traders are squaring their positions before the OPEC meeting, hence there is some profit-taking," said Tetsu Emori of Japan's Astmax Futures Co Ltd.After falling sharply early last week, as growing despair over the US economy toppled global equity markets, oil prices bounced back from Thursday as US legislators and the White House hammered out a $150 billion stimulus plan.Ghana's oil import bill skyrocketed to more than $2 billion in 2007, almost three times the bill for 2004, which stood at $775 million.The increase, which. has been attributed to the increasing price of crude oil on the international market and the high demand for crude oil products in all sectors of the economy, is also said to be impacting negatively on 'the nation's foreign exchange reserves. Experts predict that the situation may get even worse this year with the various activities, such as the hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations (Ghana 2008), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting and the December general election.The government deregulated the petroleum sector a few years ago to allow market forces to determine the prices at the pumps.Although the idea was not received kindly, Ghanaians have got used to the trend which has been described as one of the best ways of importers and refiners of the products avoiding debt.Source: Daily Graphic