The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has predicted a continuous marginal decrease in the prices of fuel for the rest of 2020.
This according to the chamber, is as a result of activities on the international oil market and expects consumers to purchase fuel at reduced prices for the last quarter of the year.
The Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, advanced that some reductions should be expected by Ghanaians till the end of 2020.
“As we speak there is quite a volatile situation in the middle east. You have a situation where Saudi is now reducing their export value for even their crude. It has an effect on finished products. We will be happy to have prices continuously fall so that Ghanaians can at least be able to accommodate their fuel expenditure. That notwithstanding, anything else could also happen so it is our anticipation that prices will fall between now and December. But if nothing happens geopolitically to change that dynamic it is quite likely that we will see prices drop”.
COPEC had earlier indicated it expected reductions to kick in by end of September with Mr Amoah predicting that the fall will be 1% for petrol and 2% for diesel.
“Our checks with the platt benchmark indicates petrol probably has lost about 4 pesewas per litre if you do just the international benchmark platt values. Again, diesel also seem to have recorded some 10 pesewas reduction. If all things are held equal, if the cedi whose performance has been quite stable over the past couple of weeks should be taken into account, Ghanaians should expect at least some marginal reduction in pump prices,” he said.
COPEC’s forecast was based on world crude oil prices as major oil-producing countries ramped up their productions after the negative impact of COVID-19 which saw fuel demand slump by one-third globally and U.S. prices briefly plunge through negative-$40 a barrel.
Crude supplies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose in September by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) from a month earlier mainly as a result of increased supplies from Libya and Iran.
Libya’s production has risen faster than analysts expected after the relaxation of a blockade by the Libyan National Army and its crude output has risen to 270,000 bpd.
U.S. and Brent crude are therefore reportedly heading for drops of around 8% and 6% respectively this week for a second consecutive week of declines whiles in the UK, the benchmark for oil slumped 10% to around $16 (£13) a barrel in another day of declines.
According to the law firm Haynes and Boone, thirty-six producers in the US with $51 billion in debt filed for bankruptcy protection in the first eight months of the year as the pandemic generally crushed fuel demand and left debt-laden producers without access to credit.
Petrol is currently selling for about GHS 4.89 per litre, while diesel goes for GHS 4.91 per litre in Ghana.
