Recent fuel increment as a result of cedi depreciation – COPEC

• Fuel prices at the various pumps have increased once again

• Fuel is now selling from about GH¢6.28 to GH¢6.35 across major stations in the country

• The recent increment however has been blamed on the depreciation of the cedi

Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, Duncan Amoah has attributed the current increment in

Read full articlefuel prices as a result of the depreciation of the local currency.

Over the weekend, fuel prices were selling from about GH¢6.28 to GH¢6.35 at various pumps of major oil marketing companies in the country.

In an interaction with Citi Business News monitored by GhanaWeb, Amoah has called for a review of the fuel pricing policy in order the address the increment which many consumers have lamented.

“This recent increase of about 12 pesewas per litre has seen fuel prices move from GH¢6.28 to GH¢6.35 for most oil marketing companies. Some are even doing GH¢6.38 that is a 16 pesewas variant. It is clearly a concern and a source of worry to all of us. I can confirm that it is largely a result of the depreciated Ghanaian cedi,” Amoah stated.

He continued, “The cedi is currently not doing too well. If you take petrol EMF on the international market for instance, per the window, it went up by 4 or 5 pesewas while Argo or diesel came down by a pesewa or two. And so grossly prices should have been stabilized as one expected. Unfortunately, the cedi is performing very poorly and, for which reason, pump prices have gone up once more.”

“This again calls into question the kind of pricing policy regime that we are using in this country. If you don’t have the cedi making you pay more for fuel, then it is world market prices making you pay more for fuel. If it is not world market price and the cedi, then it is a function normally of government making you pay more for fuel. All these three parameters have often than not worked negatively to the Ghanaian public, and it brings or reinforces our position that this whole deregulation enterprise ought to be looked at again,” he added.

Meanwhile, on the global fuel market, Brent crude oil prices were selling at US$6.28 per barrel as at the afternoon of Monday August 23, 2021. This comes after the price had earlier in July this year reduced from over US$75 per barrel.