Prices of petrol and diesel to increase averagely by about 5.7% – COPEC

Prices of petrol and diesel are likely to increase averagely by about 5.7% over the current mean price of ¢12.45 per litre, beginning tomorrow, August 16, 2023, for the next two weeks.

The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas is also expected to go up by about 11.9%.

According to the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), the expected increase is due to the 11.00% rise in prices of finished products on the international market and the about 6.79% surge in the price of crude oil, even though the forex or dollar exchange rate has relatively decreased from a previous average of ¢11.7185 to ¢11.4538 (-2.26%) per $1.

All Pump Prices are expected to be within (±5%) error margin of COPEC’s prediction.

With the new prices, petrol is expected to sell at ¢12.97 per litre on the average, while diesel will go for ¢13.43 per litre.

The 14.5 kilogramme LPG cylinder is expected to sell at ¢178.36 within the window.

Commenting, the Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, urged government to do all it can to reduce taxes on LPG or to subsidise the price of LPG to promote its nationwide accessibility and usage which will eventually help save the environment.

Additionally, COPEC advocated for reduction or take off of some of the fuel taxes to lessen the burden on consumers.  The total taxes and levies is about 25% of the retail prices of petrol and diesel.