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| Fuel prices go up again |
5/15/2007 |
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New petroleum prices will be released with effect from today to reflect the rising cost of crude oil on the international market.
The new prices, which come barely a month after the prices were adjusted by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the oil marketing companies (OMCs), will see premium petrol move up from ¢8,202.54 per litre to ¢8,858.74, representing approximately eight per cent increase.
Gas oil, which sold at ¢7,745.14 per litre, will now sell at ¢8,066.47, while kerosene will go for ¢6,994,35, as against the previous price of ¢6,603.38 per litre.
Sources close to the NPA and the OMCs told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the new prices, which will take effect from 6.00 a.m. today, came in the wake of rising crude oil prices on the international market.
They said the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) would, however, remain the same at ¢7,176.84 per kilogramme, while premix fuel would go for ¢5,883,49 per litre, from ¢5,325.26 per litre.
The sources said the prices reflected the March lifting of crude oil as quoted on the international market at the time.
They described the prices as marginal, adding that “consumers enjoyed five consecutive price reductions before the recent one last month”.
“We should be reminded that we are in a deregulated regime as far as the petroleum sector is concerned and we are playing according to the dictates of the prices of crude oil on the international market,” they said.
They said as soon as the prices dropped on the international market and the OMCs lifted the oil at the reduced prices, the prices on the local market would be adjusted downwards as usual.
In a related development, the Ghana Road Transport Co-ordinating Council (GRTCC), at its emergency meeting held last week, indicated that it would not increase transport fares.
A release signed by Mr Stephen K. Okudzeto, a member of the council and Nana Danso Atekoasa Agyemang, the First Vice-Chairman of the council, said the “GRTCC, at its emergency meeting held on April 27, 2007, deliberated on the current upward adjustment of fuel prices”, adding that “it has taken a critical look at the price adjustments and has, therefore, directed that there should not be any fare increase”.
It requested all its members to comply with the order accordingly.
Crude oil prices rose yesterday in Asian trading ahead of the release of US fuel inventory data expected to show a drop in domestic gasoline stocks.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery added 26 cents to reach $64.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange mid-afternoon in Singapore. The contract fell $1.31 to $64.40 a barrel on Tuesday.
Brent crude for June was up 35 cents at $67.35 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Stockpiles of gasoline for the week ended April 27 were estimated to have declined by 1.2 million barrels in the US.
Source:
GHP
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