Fuel Prices May Increase To 10% – COPECGH

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers- Ghana (COPECGH) is anticipating a rise in fuel prices by the end of the second pricing window which begins November 16 where petrol and diesel is expected to increase by 5-10%.

This was stated in a press release signed by Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPECGH on Tuesday.

According to the release, the “World market prices over the past two-week window has seen some sharp increases in respect of both products.”

“Per the current mix, any future shocks on world market prices or the forex in the coming weeks will likely have a very negative impact on prices and consumers eventually,” it stated.

Read the full statement below:

CHAMBER OF PETROLEUM CONSUMERS-GHANA ACCRA

SECOND PRICING WINDOW- NOVEMBER 2017

FUEL PRICES GOING UP FOR SECOND WINDOW-NOVEMBER

PETROL: 5-10%

DIESEL: 3-8%

14/11/17

The second fuel pricing window under the Price Liberalization Programme of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), for the month of November 2017, is set to commence in the next few hours.

The first window of the current month of November saw most of the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) maintain fuel prices at the various pumps with average trading indexes of around 4.320/litre for petrol or gasoline and 4.230/litre for gasoil.

With a price of a gallon averaging around 19.463 for PMS (petrol) and Ghc19.071 for AGO (diesel) across most pumps.

World market prices over the past two week window has seen some sharp increases in respect of both products, Gasoil saw an increase of about 4.016% to close trading at around $557/metric from the previous window figures of $536/metric.

Gasoline or petrol saw an increase of about 10%, increasing from previous trading indexes of $565/metric to $623/metric representing about $57/metric change.

The current window which saw the knocking out of changes in petroleum prices saw most OMCs shelve about 3% increase in the price of Gasoil whiles Gasoline could have declined by about 2% at same period.

This price shelving could lead to a hung situation on current pump prices where the price of diesel will go higher than PMS if the actual price changes and its impact is filtered through the coming pricing window.

Indicative Ex-refinery prices for both products will likely go up by between 3-10% to close trading at around Ghc2.47/litre and Ghc2.44/litre for Gasoil and Gasoline respectively.

Pump prices for both products could be expected to rise by between 3-11% depending on the OMC, the current pump averages of 4.320 and 4.230 for gasoline and Gasoil respectively, given the current price movements, the two products could rise to as high as Ghc4.66/litre or Ghc20.97/ gallon, and GH₵ 4.68/litre or Ghc21.06/gallon for Gasoline and Gasoil respectively representing 7.76% and 10.44% increases on both products respectively.

Forex over the past two weeks period has also lost some marginal points to close trading at around Ghc4.55/1$ from previous Ghc4.45/1$, and is not expected to have much impact on eventual pricing but consumers could pay more for the marginal losses in value though It is expected not to have any serious impact on fuel prices for the coming window

Prices from the trading indexes across most importers are likely to push pump prices on both products up by between 3-10% depending on the OMC and other market variables. The new prices are expected to reflect at the pumps from Thursday the 16th of November.

We use this opportunity to commend Government on some attempts at reducing taxes in the first budget which saw a net reduction of about 2.63% on the then pump prices, we further reiterate our earlier calls on the Government through its budget to be presented to Parliament tomorrow, to consider further reviews on fuel taxes especially the price stabilisation and recovery margins as well as the fixing of the special petroleum Tax to a specific amount or a movement from the current 15% on Ex-Depot to Ex-Refinery position as the levels continues to remain very high, accounting for over 51% on current ex pump prices,

Per the current mix, any future shocks on world market prices or the forex in the coming weeks will likely have a very negative impact on prices and consumers eventually.

Signed

 

Duncan Amoah

Executive Secretary

CopecGhana

Source: thePublisher