The ex-pump fuel prices and diesel increased by a record 18.2% on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
According to the Ghana News Agency, several Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have increased their rates from GHS8.2 per liter to GHS9.7 per liter, a difference of GHS1.50 per liter.
In this pricing window, the rate of increase is the largest since the beginning of the year.
At the pumps on January 1, 2022, both gasoline and diesel were selling for an average of GHS6.30 a liter.
Prior to March 1, 2022, the rate has risen to an average of GHS7.50 per liter, an increase of 8.6% over the preceding pricing period.
Fuel costs have risen by GHS3.40 per liter, or 53.9 percent, since the beginning of the year, according to the current rate of GHS9.70 per liter.
Some market analysts, including the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), predicted that the ex-pump price for petrol and diesel would cross GHS10 per liter if the rate of depreciation of the Cedi and the situation on the international market persisted before the start of the March 2022 Second Pricing Window (March 16 to 31, 2022).
In terms of the cost of gasoline on the international market, the IES discovered that the price of the worldwide benchmark Brent Crude surged to 14-year highs over the time period under consideration, hitting a high of $72.50 per barrel.
On Tuesday, March 16, 2022, the Ministry of Energy said that it had referred the NPA's proposal to the Ministry of Finance for consideration, after which it will be given to Cabinet for approval.