The prices of petroleum products at the pumps have gone up by 11 percent.
Under the second pricing window, which commenced Sunday, October 16, 2016, diesel prices increased by between 8 and 11 percent at current ex pump prices while petrol prices went up by between 3 and 5 percent across most Bulk Oil Distribution companies (BDCs) and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
The increment in prices of petroleum prices had not reflected at the various pumps as at press time yesterday.
The current increases have been largely attributed to the sharp increases on the world market prices, as the cedi has been relatively stable over the past two weeks.
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures fell 57 cents to $51.38 yesterday per barrel at 1348 GMT, after hitting a session high of $52.29 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $49.65 per barrel, down 70 cents from their last settlement, after hitting a session high of $50.58.
Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of the Chamber, told BUSINESS GUIDE that the price increase could not be blamed on the OMCs because of the many taxes introduced by government on petroleum products, stating “the taxes are just too many.”
He urged government to reduce the taxes on petroleum products, as has been done for both aviation fuel and marine gas oil products recently.
In a statement released yesterday, Mr. Amoah said “the pending OPEC meeting on 2nd November to, among other things, firm up decisions on levels of cuts for individual members is a great source of worry to consumers in Ghana, as further increases on the world market prices only impact directly on local pump prices.”
He implored the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to immediately halt the arbitrary fines without any verification of the OMCs.
By Cephas Larbi