ACCRA, Nov. 14 – Petrol could become cheaper at the pumps from Monday after the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) cut the price floor for the fuel by GH¢1.70 per litre for the November 16–30 pricing window, MyJoyOnline reported on Saturday.
The NPA, working with industry players, reviewed the floor price for petrol from GH¢15.39 to GH¢13.69 per litre – a drop of roughly 11 per cent from the figure it published two weeks ago. The floor for diesel falls more modestly, from GH¢17.41 to GH¢16.73 per litre.
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) moves in the opposite direction, with its price floor rising from GH¢13.73 to GH¢15.93 per kilogramme.
What the price floor means
The price floor is the minimum reference price set by the regulator. According to the NPA, it excludes the premiums charged by International Oil Trading Companies, the operating margins of Bulk Import, Distribution and Export Companies (BIDECs), and the margins of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and LPG Marketing Companies. Those charges are set independently by each company under the Petroleum Products Pricing Formula.
That means the final price motorists pay will depend on how individual companies apply their margins, so pump prices may move differently across stations.
Some pumps already cheaper
Several OMCs have already reduced prices ahead of the new window, MyJoyOnline reported. Star Oil, which has cut prices three times in the past week, is selling petrol at GH¢15.55 and diesel at GH¢18.37 per litre. Allied Oil is selling petrol at GH¢15.50 and diesel at GH¢18.20, while JP has reduced petrol to GH¢15.95 from GH¢16.43 and diesel to GH¢18.35 from GH¢18.97.
Under current regulations, fuel prices are reviewed on the 1st and 16th of each month, although the NPA has said OMCs may adjust pump prices in between, provided they follow the regulator’s guidelines.
Why prices are moving
The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has attributed the mixed price movements to the appreciation of the cedi and lower prices of crude oil and finished petroleum products on the international market. The International Energy Agency has also projected that global oil markets will swing into surplus for the first time since the start of the Iran war, as exports from the Persian Gulf recover.
Source: MyJoyOnline.
Featured image: A filling station in Accra. Photo: Dnshitobu / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
