Taraba, Katsina Lead as Prices of Diesel, Petrol Continue Upward Swing, Worsen Economic Hardship

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Any hope of immediate respite for Nigerians was again dashed in July as the prices of major fuels continued to soar in July, worsening the economic hardship partly caused by energy prices.

Latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that year-on-year, the amount spent by Nigerians on diesel jumped by as much as 73.63 per cent put side by the price it sold during the same period last year.

The NBS data showed that Taraba state topped the list of states with the highest prices of diesel in the country during the period under review, with residents buying a litre for as much as N1,721 per litre.

Nigeria’s inflation had for months continued to rise driven by a threefold increase in electricity tariffs, fuel subsidy removal, leading to higher transport costs as well as a devaluation of the country’s currency by the federal government.

In June this year, the NBS reported that all measures of inflation rate rose in June 2024, although at a slower pace, with headline inflation increasing to 34.2 per cent in June 2024 from 22.8 percent in June 2023 and 34.0 percent in May 2024.

Although inflation slowed to 33.30 per cent in July by 0.8 points, the data stressed that transportation, electricity gas and other fuels, including diesel and petrol still remain major drivers of the general rise in prices of goods and services during the month.

The rising prices of major fuels in the country have been further worsened by the massive importation of products, since at the moment Nigeria does not refine most of its fuels.

But the NBS figures revealed that in terms of diesel prices, Taraba was followed by Borno and Bauchi, where residents bought the product for N1694.17 and  N1619.54 respectively.

“The average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO)  or diesel) paid by consumers increased by 73.63 per cent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N794.48 per litre recorded in the corresponding month of last year (i.e., July 2023) to a higher cost of N1379.48 per litre in July 2024.

“On a month-on-month basis, a decrease of 5.71 per cent was recorded from N1462.98 in June 2024 to an average of N1379.48 in July 2024.

“Looking at the variations in the state prices, the top three states with the highest average price of the product in July 2024 included Taraba state (N1721.79), Borno state (N1694.17), and Bauchi (N1619.54),” the data added.

Furthermore, it said the top three lowest prices were recorded in the following states namely: Kogi State (N1,186.31), Kano State (N1,211.11), and Osun (N1,246.82).

The zonal representation of average price of diesel, it said, showed that North East zone had the highest price of N1,600.85 while South West zone had the lowest price of N1,266.57 when compared with other Zones.

In the same vein, the average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol for July 2024 was N770.54, indicated a 28.35 per cent increase compared to the value recorded in July 2023 N600.35.

Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. June 2024), the average retail price, the NBS stressed, increased by 2.72 per cent from N750.17.

“On State profile analysis, Katsina State had the highest average retail price for petrol, at N950.00, Jigawa and Benue States were next, with N903.08 and N846.95, respectively.

“Conversely, Kwara, Edo, and Akwa Ibom States had the lowest average retail prices for petrol, at N650.00, N669.75, and N673.75 respectively. Lastly, on the zonal profile, the North-West Zone had the highest average retail price of N820.10, while the South-South Zone had the lowest price of N678.30.

In June also, prices of key fuels, had earlier continued their upward swing, but with Benue, Niger, Jigawa and Cross River recording the highest prices in the country.

The highest average price of petrol in June 2024 was recorded in Niger State (N1979.23), Cross River State (N1920.86), and Taraba (N1742.46).

Also, the highest prices of diesel emerged in Benue which sold the product for N864.55 per litre, followed by Jigawa and Rivers states with N847 per litre and N810 per litre respectively.

In all,  the average price of diesel was N1,462.98 per litre in June, representing an increase of 4.20 per cent compared to N1,403.96 reported in May.