Fuel prices to drop in Ghana Sept 16 – Marketers

Fuel prices to drop in Ghana Sept 16 – Marketers

 

Motorists and others fuel buyers are expected to pay less for petrol and diesel’s from next Monday September 16 should the cedi, the country’s currency, remain stable against the US dollars.

The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) in Ghana made the projection through its Chief Executive, Riverson Oppong.

He said the recent stability in key factors influencing petrol prices should lead to a price drop at the pumps.

“All the variables that influence prices of petroleum products have been fairly stable over the past week and if that is sustained going forward, then there should be a reduction in prices at the pumps,” Oppong said.

A litre of petrol is sold between GH¢13.63 (N1,472.31) and GH¢14.35 (N1,550.08) depending on the company, diesel sells between GH¢13.99 (N1,511.19) and GH¢14.60 (N1,577.1) per litre.

The Bank of Ghana gave the exchange rate of the cedi to naira as N108.02 as of September 11.

Oppong said the cedi’s performance will be a crucial factor in determining the price review by the oil marketing companies.

He dismissed criticism that AOMCs are slow to adjust prices when the market conditions favour a reduction.

“There is always a reason why the OMCs delay in reviewing prices at the pumps, and that has nothing to do with the arguments that they want to shortchange consumers,” he added.

He said the association is actively working to address recent consumer complaints about service quality.

Oppong also said the group has launched its own initiative to ensure that members adhere to the highest standards for storing products at service stations.

This initiative, he said, could significantly help address the issue and reduce consumer complaints.

“Our sector can be described as the most regulated in the industry. We are regulated by the National Petroleum Authority, and Ghana Standards Authority. You shouldn’t see some of these product quality issues coming up that often,” he said.

“Looking at the progress that we have made when it comes to developing the sector, we should not be having these kinds of challenges.”

In August, the OMCs reduced the pump prices of both petrol and diesel.

While Ghanaians are thinking of energy cost reduction, Nigerian are contending with fuel price hike and scarcity of petrol.

On September 2, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited increased the price of petrol across its retail outlets to N855 per litre — up from N600.

The oil firm said the increase, which has triggered a hike in transport cost and cost of living, was due to the deregulation of the petroleum industry, and ‘determined by market forces’.