The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the average price for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) advanced by 129.23% m/m and 210.31% y/y to N545.38/litre from the average price of N238.11/litre and N175.89/litre in May 2023 and June 2022 respectively.
The average price of National Household Kerosene (NHK) came in at N1,236.10/litre, up by 2.49% m/m and 62.68% y/y from N1,206.05/litre and N761.69/litre in May 2023 and June 2022 respectively.
On the flip side, the average price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) settled at N4,068.26/5kg in June 2023, a decline of 6.71% m/m and 3.56% y/y from the average prices of N4,360.69 and N4,218.38 in May 2023 and June 2022 collectively.
More so, the price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO/Diesel) declined by 3.37% m/m to N815.83/litre from N844.28/litre in May 2023 while advancing by 11.18% y/y from N733.78/litre in June 2022.
The removal of fuel subsidy by the new administration resulted in the significant increase in price of PMS while other petroleum derivatives that had been deregulated previously such as diesel and Kerosene showed relative price stability over the review period.
However, the technical devaluation of the nation’s currency will lead to higher costs of all petroleum products and more importantly, prices will likely continue to fluctuate unless there is some stability in the currency. Prices of petroleum products are not just a function of movement in crude oil prices but also a function of exchange rate changes.
On 18 July, the retail outlets of the national oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL) in Abuja adjusted the pump price of petrol from N537 per litre to N617 per litre.
The price change triggered price changes in other outlets around the country.
Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of the NNPCL Kyari, noted that the adjustment is a fall out of market realities as it is impossible to keep the price stable in a liberalised market.
The exchange rate has been rising since the unification of rates at various windows.
