By Audrey Lotechukwu
TUE 22 JUNE, 2021-theGBJournal- Diesel retailers are unrelenting in further increases in prices as consumers are pressured by higher prices for the product in May 2021.
Average price paid by consumers for Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) increased by 0.69% month-on-month and by 8.99% year-on-year to N238.82 in May 2021 from N237.19 in April 2021, according to latest data collected by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) from across the country.
NBS notes that the prices reflect actual prices households state they actually bought those fuels together with the prices reportedly sold by the fuel suppliers.
‘’The impact is immeasurable on our businesses,’’ says one factory manager in Lagos. ‘’We are not expecting prices to get any better and things are not looking good for the business,’’ he added.
Across the country, the actual average retail price varied depending on logistics and levies.
Consumers in Sokoto (N259.29), Bauchi (N258.00) and Benue (N256.17) states paid the heaviest average price for the product in May while consumers in Nasarawa (N213.89), Delta (N215.52) and Rivers (N223.24) paid lowest average price for diesel per litre.
Overall, consumers in the north east part of the country paid the highest average price per litre, as high as N243.74. They are closely followed by consumers in south west at N242.96 and north central at N241.77. Prices in the south east, south south and north west averaged N236.72, N234.47, N233.36 per litre respectively.
Meanwhile, the average price paid by consumers for premium motor spirit (petrol) also increased by 29.61% year-on-year and month-on-month by 1.01% to N168.06 in May 2021 from N166.38 in April 2021.
The price increase is despite the rising global crude prices on a pickup in demand and depleting inventories. The benchmark Brent crude, which reached a multiyear high of $75 recently, traded at 74.90 USD as at June 21, 2021.
The NBS data shows that Lagos (N186.26), Benue (N180.83) and Ebonyi (N177.40) were States with the highest average price of premium motor spirit (petrol) while Gombe (N161.33), Borno (N162.27) and Zamfara (N162.31) recorded the lowest average price.
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