Prices of various petroleum products are likely to go up by between 4% to 6% today.
The two week price review window is part of the full deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Rs4YVMEXbulUoy4s5jyJsRrBeVZrE21e”]The increases in the prices of petrol and diesel have been largely due to the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.
The prices of petrol and diesel have been reduced in excess of 20% since July 16.
This is despite the cedi’s continuous depreciation against the US dollar and other major trading currencies.
The cedi has been depreciating against the dollar since July 16, the last time the prices of petroleum products were reviewed downwards.
A dollar as at last week Friday was selling at 3 cedis, 90 pesewas representing a 65 pesewa depreciation of the cedi since July 17.
However the price of crude on the world market for the first time in over six years tumbled to below 42 dollars a barrel before close of last week but has since edge up to 42.50 dollars.
The cedi’s consistent slide against the dollar is to blame for today’s upward review in prices of various petroleum products.
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) would be expected to monitor the pricing formula of the various OMCs keenly to ensure Ghanaian are not exploited.
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By: Rabiu Alhassan/citifmonline.com/Ghana