Retail petrol price hits seven-month low

The average retail price of petrol has risen for the first time this year, after a seven month decline, according to a rencent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) monthly report.

Based on the report, it reduced marginally (month-on-on month) by 0.1 percent to N146.90 per litre in August 2018 from N146.80 in July 2018.

Johnson Chukwu, CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited, said “Well what I think may have happened is that in some states, there must have been some distribution bottlenecks properly in the northern states as a result of the destruction of transport infrastructure by the insurgency in the north east region and we also know that there was armed theft in some northeast states like Zamfara and Sokoto.”

“The level of insurgency may have constrained the distribution of petrol products to those states and that may have affected their prices in those states. So I think it is more of destruction bottlenecks and not necessary because there was not enough petroleum products available in the country,” Chukwu said.

Since the beginning of the year, it had been on a decline till it picked up in August. In January, it was N190.9 per litre, in February it fell to N172.5 and in March it was N163.4.

In April it was N151.4, in May it fell to N150.2, in June it was at N148.1 per litre, in July it was N146.8 and in August it was 146.9.

States with the highest average price of petrol were Borno which was N157 per litre, Kebbi had N152.9 and Kwara had N152.9.

In addition, states with the lowest average price of petrol were Ekiti which had N144.2, Katsina had 144.1 and Bauchi and N143.89.

BUNMI BAILEY