Business News of Thursday, 15 March 2018

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Fuel prices to remain unchanged in coming weeks - IES

Fuel prices are expected to remain within the current selling of between GHC4.51 and GhC4.49 Fuel prices are expected to remain within the current selling of between GHC4.51 and GhC4.49

Institute for Energy Securities has predicted stable fuel prices on the domestic market for the next two weeks despite marginal increases on the world market.

The IES believes that the Ghana Cedi's insignificant depreciation against the Dollar and the relatively stable price of Oil on the world market contributes to the outcome locally.

The forecast was contained in a press release signed by Richmond Rockson, Principal Research Analyst of IES.

It stated that "with the marginal depreciation of the local currency against the U.S. Dollar, the fairly stable prices Gasoline and Gasoil in particular on the international commodity market, and the insignificant price change in Brent crude. the Institute for Energy Security (IES) foresees prices on the local fuel market remaining fairly stable over the next two weeks."

The IES also expressed disappointment at the inability of National Petroleum Authority to actualise a 1%-3% reduction that was predicted previously after the downward review of the Special Petroleum Tax.

They disagreed with NPA's justification of the matter.

"After several weeks of price hikes which led to the downward review of the Special Petroleum Tax (SPT), one would have expected that petroleum consumers to have benefitted from favourable oil indicators. Unfortunately, consumers were shortchanged as the expected 1 to 3% price drop failed to reflect at the pumps. This according to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), was as a result of the restoration of the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy which was removed (PSRL)" the statement noted