‘Fuel could sell at GH¢12 by Thursday’ – OMC boss pins hope on cedi stability – Nsemkeka
The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMCs) says Ghanaians may soon enjoy significantly lower fuel prices at the pump if the cedi continues its recent run of stability.
Dr Riverson Oppong, speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, May 26, projected that petrol could drop to as low as GH¢12 per litre by the next pricing window if the cedi holds steady.
“Believe me, in the next window, we are even foreseeing petrol selling for ¢12,” he said. “The forecast will be by Thursday if the cedi continues with its stability.”
He explained that the strength of the cedi is now playing a major role in bringing relief to consumers, particularly in the conversion of international fuel prices from dollars to Ghana cedis.
“As far as the cedi is also a very big factor in the forex calculation—that’s converting from USD to cedi—we also have that affecting the pump price,” he noted.
Dr. Oppong said the industry is already seeing signs of reduction. “We’ve seen about an average of six to 10% decrease coming from the 15th to 30th of May,” he disclosed.
While the news is welcome for consumers, he pointed out that it comes with some challenges for government revenue.
“As we are happy with the downstream effect—that is, the fuel price going down at the pump level—you also see that there is revenue reduction in upstream,” he explained.
He was optimistic that the combination of a strong cedi and a stable international market could help sustain the trend.
“With the plateauing of the international benchmark prices, we are likely to see that, and we shall be proud to have that effect on our consumer,” he added.
Dr. Oppong’s remarks come at a time when expectations are high among Ghanaians for further relief at the pumps, following weeks of currency appreciation and easing global oil prices.
The next pricing window begins this week, and all eyes are now on whether the GH¢12 per litre forecast will materialise.