Fuel is one of the racing products in Ghana today as far as price hikes is concerned and drivers, private and commercial have become very worried.
The prices of crude oil, Brent, gasoil and gasoline have witnessed a sharp increase due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the past few weeks, and Ghana appears to be having a rippling effect of this.
Before the simmering tension between Russia and Ukraine, petrol was selling at GHC6.70 pesewas in November 2021. This has changed at a rather very alarming pace owing to several factors have contributed to the rise in prices of petroleum products on both the international and local markets
In this piece, GhanaWeb looks at how many times fuel prices have increased in the first quarter of the year:
Fuel price hike in January 2022:
The first hike for the year was in January when the prices of petrol and diesel shot up to GHC6.90 pesewas per litre, an increase by 20 pesewas.
Fuel sold at GH¢7.42 and GHc7.99 in February
During the first pricing window of February, there was a 9.6% increase in brent and gasoline prices, moving the price of petrol and diesel to GHC7.42 pesewas. This was the first time fuel prices had crossed the GHC7 mark. It was an increase by 0.52 pesewas from the January price.
Some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) on February 17, 2022 increased fuel prices again to GH¢7.99 at various pumps, an increase by 57 pesewas.
This upward adjustment was expected as the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) and the Institute of Energy Security warned of an increase for the third time this year by mid-February.
This, experts said was a result of rising crude oil prices on the international market. The price of crude oil was at the time sold at $93.39 on the world market.
Fuel prices hit GH¢8 per litre in March
On March 1, 2022, diesel and petrol were selling at GH¢8.290 pesewas.
This upward adjustment was once again projected by COPEC and IES.
They attributed the upsurge in petroleum products to the sharp increase in brent crude, gasoline, and gasoil on the international market and the free fall of the Cedi.
Oil prices jumped on Thursday, February 24 with Brent rising above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, after Russia attacked Ukraine exacerbating concerns about disruptions to global energy supply.
Fuel prices to hit GH¢9 per litre by close of March - COPEC
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) has projected another increment in fuel prices before the end of March this year.
According to Executive Secretary of the Chamber, Duncan Amoah, the free fall of the local currency - Cedi - is a contributing factor to the increase in petroleum products of the market.
He further indicated that crude oil and other petroleum products on the international market will continue to surge because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the past few weeks.
The increment in petroleum products has led to an increment in transport fares. Also, food prices, rendering of services have gone up following the increase in TnT.
Fuel prices are selling at GH¢8.290 pesewas per litre