Duncan Amoah, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), has suggested that the prices of petroleum products are likely to continue rising over the next two to three months.
During the weekend, Oil Marketing companies implemented upward adjustments to fuel prices at the pumps, with increases ranging from 3% to 8%.
Analysts attribute this increase to a combination of factors, including the rise in crude prices on the international market, the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar in recent weeks, and adjustments in levies and margins by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
Despite these factors, Duncan Amoah warns that projections indicate a continued upward trend in prices.
“Projections from the international market suggest that prices are unlikely to decrease anytime soon. So, we may experience this trend for the next two to three months before any reduction occurs,” he stated during an interview with Joshua Nana Kwame Ayira on Starr Today, on Friday, February 16th, 2024.
Duncan Amoah urged the Bank of Ghana to address the depreciation of the cedi to help stabilize fuel prices.
“I have indicated that the Bank of Ghana needs to take action… If our currency remains stable, any fluctuations in international market pricing would have minimal impact. However, if the cedi continues to depreciate, we may see additional price hikes by March, April, or May,” he cautioned.
Additionally, Duncan Amoah questioned the rationale behind the NPA’s decision to increase the BOST margin. While acknowledging the justifiability of adjustments in other levies, he expressed perplexity over the three pesewas addition to the margin of a profitable company like BOST.
