How Middle East tensions are keeping Ghana's fuel market uncertain

The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC), Dr Riverson Oppong, has said the renewed tensions between the United States and Iran continue to create uncertainty in the global oil market, with the potential to affect fuel prices in Ghana.

Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV on Monday July 13, 2026, he noted that although the situation has made the market unstable, he does not expect crude oil prices to rise above $100 per barrel.

"We're just hoping, and fingers crossed that this does not escalate the price above $100, which I believe we're not going to see," he said.

Oppong further explained that COMAC had earlier projected that crude oil prices would remain between $70 and $80 per barrel if global conditions remained stable.

Cameroon cocoa prices hit season high as trading picks up before harvest ends

"I was optimistic with the forecasts, and I mentioned and predicted that we were going to see the 80s, which we saw. We came to $74, $75, and it is still within the forecast that was made because the concern was that if everything was equal, that's what we were going to see in the market," he said.

However, he noted that geopolitical events make it difficult to predict how the market will perform.

"In forecasting, nobody can predict the mindset of any leader who is geopolitically strong like Trump. That's the only disadvantage we have during our forecasting," he said.

Oppong also added that if there had been no geopolitical tensions, crude oil prices could have fallen even further.

"If things were the same, we believe that we would have seen that for a long time and, if possible, drop to between $65 and $67," he stated.

The COMAC CEO also revealed that recent developments have led to panic buying of fuel by some consumers but assured the public that there is enough fuel in the country.

"We've observed panic buying, but it is not anything to worry about. We still have stocks in the country," he said.

He also criticised some businesses for increasing fuel prices too early, saying the products they are selling were imported before the latest tensions.

"We've seen some businesses also increasing their prices already in the midst of it, which I always say is very wrong because we believe they are selling products that were brought in some time ago," he added.

ANAS/SA

Do your due diligence before investing in real estate – GhanaWeb CEO David Antwi