Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene Prices Continue Rise, Gas Rates Fall Marginally

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Prices of major fuels, including petrol, diesel and kerosene continued to rise in April, with the amount Nigerians spend in buying Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas falling marginally.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that the average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, in the month of April 2024 was N701.24.

This indicated a 176.02 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in April 2023, which was N254.06. Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month, that is March 2024, the average retail price increased by 0.64 per cent from N696.79.

On state profile analysis, Kogi state had the highest average retail price for petrol, at N797.78 while Nasarawa and Zamfara states were next, with N778.89 and N754.29, respectively.

On the other hand, Lagos, Niger and Ogun States had the lowest average retail prices of petrol), at N602.55, N633.75 and N647.14 respectively.

In all, the North-east zone had the highest average retail price of N734.70, while the South-west zone had the lowest price of N655.66.

Nigeria’s  headline consumer inflation accelerated to a new 28-year high in April, hitting 33.69 per cent year-on-year, up from 33.20 per cent in March, the statistics agency, with many observers expressing the belief that the federal government’s subsidy reforms, rather than the expansion of money supply, were a major driver behind the persistent core inflation in Nigeria.

A recent study by Eric Otoakhia of the Department of Economics, Business School, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, published in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) magazine, showed that energy costs are a major driver of the current inflationary trend in the country.

A former Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, has also recently argued that the major inflation drivers were not receding, saying that if anything, they were becoming even more intense.

Aside depreciating exchange rate, he blamed surging transportation costs, logistics challenges, astronomical hike in diesel cost as some of the factors pushing the soaring inflation.

In addition, the latest NBS data showed that the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), otherwise known as diesel, paid by consumers increased by 68.01 per cent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N842.25 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year, April 2023, to a higher cost of N1415.06 per litre in April 2024.

On a month-on-month basis, an increase of 5.51 per cent was recorded from N1341.16 in the preceding month of March 2024 to an average of N1415.06 in April 2024.

Looking at the variations in the state prices, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in April 2024 included Taraba (N1742.46), Bauchi State (N1669.63) and Borno (N1652.61).

Furthermore, the top three lowest prices were recorded in Niger (N1023.00), Kogi (N1152.50) and Adamawa State (N1257.50).

The zonal representation of average price of diesel showed that the North-east zone had the highest price of N1553.80 while North-central zone had the lowest price N1307.21 when compared with other zones.

Also, the average retail price per litre of kerosene paid by consumers in April 2024 was N1,439.64, showing an increase of 6.29 per cent compared to N1,354.40 recorded in March 2024.

On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 24.04 per cent from N1,160.67 in April 2023. On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in April 2024 was recorded in Benue with N1,788.47, followed by Kaduna with N1,761.62 and Plateau with N1,717.78.

On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Katsina with N1,222.22, followed by Jigawa with N1,240.74 and Kwara with N1,252.38.

On a positive note, the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of LPG declined by 1.06 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N6,591.62 recorded in March 2024 to N6,521.58 in April 2024.

But On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 40.48 per cent from N4,642.27 in April 2023. On state profile analysis, Bauchi recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) with N7,000.00, followed by Kano with N6,998.67, and Yobe with N6,962.50.

On the other hand, Adamawa recorded the lowest price with N5,470.00, followed by Enugu and Katsina with N5,973.53 and N5,981.82 respectively.

In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-south recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder, with N6,767.27, followed by the North-east with N6,602.50 while the South-east recorded the lowest with N6,204.86.