News

Friday, March 11, 2016

Fuel price to go up by April 1
Audrey Agyiri-Inkoom

Accra, March 24, Ghanadot - There are indications that the prices of some petroleum products could go up by between 5 and 10 percent from the 1st of April, as a result of the recent price-volatility on the world market.

If the said increment is affected, it would be the third time government would have done so since it took office in 2009.

Meanwhile, in a bid to secure local consumers against the price fluctuations on the world market, cabinet has approved a commodity price risk management policy for implementation by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).

The implication is that prices of petroleum products are expected to be fixed over a period of time to enable more effective planning by consumers and businesses.

A press statement from the NPA said, by the policy, government had opted to fund the cost of the price protection directly from budgetary resources which could otherwise have been factored into the petroleum price build-up.

Following Government’s approval, the NPA is set to establish a Risk Management Committee with stakeholder representation from the key state institutions to oversee the implementation of the policy.

The Deputy Finance Minister Fiifi Kwetey in an interview revealed that, government remains open to the option of hedging crude oil between now till the end of the year.

“We are considering especially between now and the fourth quarter to ensure that whatever volatility that may be occurring if the price of crude oil does not affect the economy because you can have the situation where the whole economy is thrown over board due to huge fluctuation that happens.”

We are also looking at the signals properly and see whether oil is going to remain within the agreed threshold that the budget was completed on or things are going to run out…It is not conclusive yet but it is something we are seriously considering.

Ghanadot