Year in Review: Here is the number of times fuel prices were increased in 2022

In 2022, fuel prices began at GH¢6.00. In the second pricing window of January, checks by GhanaWeb Business showed that a litre of petrol and diesel sold for GH¢6.50 and GH¢6.80 at various fuel pumps.

Some others sold petrol at GH¢6.99 per litre and diesel at GH¢7.05 per litre.

The price increased to GH¢7.42 and GH¢7.99 in February.

During the first pricing window of February, there was a 9.6% increase in brent and gasoline prices, moving the price of petrol and diesel to GH¢7.42 pesewas. This was the first time fuel prices had crossed the GH¢7 mark.

The increase was an upward adjustment of 0.52 pesewas from the January price.

In the second pricing window, some Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) increased fuel prices again on February 17, 2022, to GH¢7.99 at various pumps, an increase of 57 pesewas.

Experts stated that this was a result of rising crude oil prices on the international market. At the time, the price of crude oil was $93.39.

Fuel prices cross GH¢8 mark in March

On March 1, 2022, diesel and petrol were selling at GH¢8.29 pesewas.

Industry players attributed the upsurge in the prices of petroleum products to the sharp increase in brent crude, gasoline, and Gasoil on the international market and the free fall of the cedi.

Oil prices jumped on Thursday, February 24, with brent rising above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, after Russia attacked Ukraine, exacerbating concerns about disruptions to the global energy supply.

Meanwhile, by the close of March, fuel prices were projected to hit GH¢9 per litre.

The increase was attributed to the depreciation of the cedi and the increase in the price of crude oil on the international market.

As the pressures were weighing on citizens, the government announced a reduction of 15 pesewas to begin in April.

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra on March 24, 2022, the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said, "To mitigate the rising price of petroleum products at the pumps for the next three months, the government has decided to reduce margins in petroleum price build-up by a total of 15 pesewas per litre with effect from 1st of April,"

"BOST margin reduced by 2 pesewas per litre, unified petroleum pricing fund margin reduced by 9 pesewas per litre, fuel marking margin reduced by 1 pesewa per litre, primary distribution margin reduced by 3 pesewas per litre. These are expected to reduce the price of petrol by 1.6 percent and diesel by 1.4 percent. We anticipate the measures taken to stabilize the currency will help further stabilise the prices at the pumps," Ken Ofori-Atta added.

However, in May, fuel prices took an upward turn as LPG experienced a slight reduction.

It was projected that petrol may sell for GH¢9.538 per litre, about a 0.4% increase, while diesel will go for GH¢10.829 per litre, a 3% increase.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) was projected to be sold at about GH¢10.093 per kilogramme, an indication of a reduction of about 21 pesewas (2%).

In June, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers-Ghana (COPEC) projected that "Petrol will go up to almost GH¢11 for this window, while LPG will decline by as much as 17 pesewas or some 1.61 percent for the first window."

But OMCs started selling a litre of diesel for GH¢12.40 and petrol for GH¢10.10 per litre on June 6, 2022.

Chief Executive of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, Duncan Amoah, noted that petroleum products may see a reduction in the second pricing of July.

They noted that both petrol and diesel will witness some decline, with diesel expected to go down by more than 11% and petrol by 4%, while LPG will fall by almost 10% per kilogramme.

In August, petrol was selling at GH¢10.95 whereas diesel was selling at GH¢13.26 among the leading oil marketing companies.

By the end of August, a litre of petrol was selling at a little over GH¢11 and GH¢13.70 for diesel at various fuel pumps.

By September 1, 2022, fuel prices at local pumps had shot up by about 5.4 percent with petrol and diesel trading at an average of GH¢11.55 and GH¢14.50, respectively.

In October, Petrol was projected to sell at GH¢12.63 per litre and GH¢15.46 for diesel.

In November, fuel prices saw an unprecedented increase, coupled with increasing transport fares.

Petrol was selling at GH¢16.82 and diesel at GH¢20.50.

Meanwhile, from the beginning of December, fuel prices have begun dropping due to the appreciation of the cedi and the reduction in global oil prices.

SSD/