By Azuka Christopher
THUR 15 APRIL, 2021-theGBJournal- Sharp rise in consumer prices was recorded in March with the biggest leap in the cost of premium motor spirit (Petrol).
Data released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows increases also in the price of diesel and cooking gas. All the price increases reflected market factors as well as conflicting signals from regulators.
The Statistics office reported that average price paid by consumers for premium motor spirit (petrol) increased by 18.76% year-on-year and month-on-month by 3.87% to N172.68 in March 2021 from N166.24 in February 2021. Petrol price trended up to N212 in March after confusing publications by the Petroleum Products Pricing regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Lagos State is reported to have recorded the highest average price in premium motor spirit at N200.87 followed by Ebonyi (N184.17) and Niger (N183.50). States with the lowest average price of premium motor spirit (petrol) were Adamawa (N162.91), Taraba (N162.67) and Bauchi (N164.00).
Average price paid by consumers for Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) increased by 3.36% month-on-month and by 3.80% year-on-year to N235.41 in March 2021 from N227.76 in February 2021.
States with the highest average price of diesel were Borno (N275.30), Benue (N264.91) and Bauchi (N257.50). States with the lowest average price of diesel were Plateau (N207.50), Rivers (N211.25) and Ekiti (N215.36).
Average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 1.92% month-on-month and by 3.87% year-on-year to N2,057.71 in March 2021 from N2,018.91 in February 2021.
States with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) were Bauchi (N2,487.46), Borno (N2,397.56) and Adamawa (N2,397.37). States with the lowest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) were Jigawa (N1,717.00), Abuja (N1,800.98) and Kaduna (N1,825.86).
Similarly, average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) decreased by -0.10% month-on-month and increased by 4.26% year-on-year to N4,359.23 in March 2021 from N4,363.51 in February 2021.
States with the highest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) were Cross River (N4,762.65), Sokoto (N4,750.00) and Edo (N4,728.57).
States with the lowest average price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) were Zamfara (N3,749.06), Kaduna (N3,751.27) and Katsina (N3,845.04).
Twitter-@theGBJournal|email: info@govandbusinessjournal.ng
