Petrol hits N212 per litre days after NNPC denied price hike

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Eleven days after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) promised there would be no price hike for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol in March, the price has hit N212 litre.

On February 28, NNPC spokesman, Kennie Obateru, gave the assurance in a statement, in reaction to the long queues in some states.

“Contrary to speculations of an imminent increase in the price of PMS in the country, the NNPC has ruled out any increment in the ex-depot price of petrol in March”, he noted.

But on Thursday night, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) released the latest guiding retail price.

In a template published on its website, the agency explained that the increment was due to the market determinants and importation costs.

PPPRA fixed the lower band of the new fuel price at N209.61 per litre and upper band at N212.61 per litre.

The price was calculated on the approved average importer & exporter (I&E) Naira exchange rate per dollar of N403.80. The crude oil price at the international market is currently $70/barrel.

PPPRA said the average price per ton of the commodity is about $561.96, or N169.22 per litre, while the average freight rate cost $21.63 per ton, or N6.51 per litre. The ex-coastal price is N175.73 per litre.

For component charges, the average littering expenses cost N4.81 per litre; Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) charge N2.49 per litre; NIMASA charge N0.23 per litre.

Jetty Through Put charge is N1.61 per litre; Storage charge is N2.58 per litre, and average finance is N2.17 per litre, translating to an expected landing cost per litre of N189.61.

There is the wholesale margin of N4.03 per litre; administration charge of N1.23 per litre; transporters’ allowance (NTA) of N3.89 per litre; Bridging Fund cost of N7.51 per litre and Marine transport average (MTA) of N0.15 per litre.

The expected ex-depot price for wholesale products marketers now stands at N206.42 per litre. The addition of retailers’ margin of N6.19 per litre would bring the expected retail price (lower band) N209.61 per litre and expected retail price (upper band) N212.61 per litre.