Fuel prices, in the second week of May 2020 have reduced slightly at various filing stations. This is as predicted by the Institute of Energy Security (IES).
Last week the IES said it expects the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to reduce fuel prices at the various stations in the next pricing window, which was due to commence within that same week.
True to this prediction, Ghana Talks Business can confirm that fuel prices in the second week of May 2020 have indeed been reduced, albeit marginally.
A visit to some of the OMCs indicated that both Petrol and Diesel are selling between GH₵3.8 to GH₵4.11.
However, Crude oil prices on the international market has begun picking up with WTI now trading at $27 per barrel and Brent selling at $30.63 per barrel.
Prices in Ghana
Pump Prices in Ghana have been dropping, albeit marginally, over the last few weeks.
Below is a table containing the latest Pump Prices at the filing stations of the top six OMCs brands in the country.
From the table, fuel consumers can attest that prices have slightly reduced. However, other brands which are not captured on the table are selling their fuel at cheaper prices.
For instance, ‘So Filing station‘ is offering Petrol at GH₵3.8 and Diesel at GH₵3.9 while Radiance has Pump Prices at GH₵3.99 for both super and diesel.
Goil, Total and Shell are the most popular filing station in the country with branches dotted in every nook and cranny of Ghana. However, it appears Puma and Engen oil has to do more relative to their visibility, especially in the capital.
COPEC on Pump Prices
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers-Ghana (COPEC), Mr Duncan Amoah, has said that pump prices could drop to the GH₵3 mark. He however added that drop in prices may not be significant due to the fact that Brent crude, whose benchmark the Ghanaian market is largely dependent upon, is still rising, albeit slowly. Despite decline in demand for oil globally in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Ghanaian market is largely Brent benchmark dependent and as such a collapse on WTI is quite unlikely to have any trickle-down effect on local pump prices here,” Duncan Amoah said in the statement on Tuesday, April 21.
He, however, admonished the government to take advantage of the situation to assist the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) in expanding its capacity to store in large quantities of the fuel.
Meanwhile, the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) has called for an increase in the BOST Margin in the petroleum price build-up from 3 pesewas to 12 pesewas.
This call has been backed by two Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), and the Institute of Energy Security (IES).
Should the Margin be increased, the two CSOs believe BOST can be in a position to hedge its prices to ensure stability in fuel prices in the country.
By Salifu B.B. Moro
