Some media outlets announcement of projected fuel prices to GHC9 per litre raised the expectation of many as petrol and diesel sell at GHC12.40 and GHC14.60 instead of projected GHC9.
Some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have reduced fuel prices on Monday.
Ghana Oil (GOIL) Company Limited in a news release, announced an 8% fuel price reduction, reducing the price of petrol from GHC 13.40 to GHC 12.40 and the price of diesel from GHC 16.10 to GHC 14.60.
Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumption (COPEC), Mr. Duncan Amoah said the current reduction does not reflect customer expectation.
“Some unfounded expectation, where you had some media outlets reporting, petrol, diesel to sell around GHC 9, for this first window January, that, if you do the numbers looks quite impossible or improbable. The expectation would have been that of course we could see the three major players decline to about GHC11.7, GHC11.8 but as it stands, only GOIL seem to have adjusted their prices by some 8% which is equivalent to about GHC1 every litre.”
Nana Amoasi VII, the Executive Director of the Institute of Energy Security has said that fuel prices have decreased because of reduction at the international market.
“We have seen on various billboards that price has come down on account of reduction in international fuel prices and also a significant appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi against the importing currency, the dollar. That is what we are seeing at this point, though not so significant as we would have wish to see it. To say whether it’s sustainable, we would have to look at a lot of factors outside and within the country.”
He added that the direction of crude oil price would also dictate price change, continuous appreciation of the cedi he said would grant consumers some respite, however the reverse of the situation would see to the hike of prices again.
The Institute for Energy and Security he said is concerned about the route government is choosing in terms of the Oil for Gold deal it intends to strike. He said, “In every barter arrangement someone has to lose, you cannot have equal for equal in a barter arrangement.”
Nana Amoasi further asked if Ghana has, enough gold reserves for the deal as the first consignment of oil vessels are expected on January 12, 2023.