Cost of petrol in Nigeria rises by 28.5% in one year
The average price paid by consumers in Nigeria for a litre of petrol increased by 28.49 per cent in June 2021 from N128.88 recorded in the comparable period of 2020 to N165.61 in June 2021.
Business Metrics learnt this in the latest Premium Motor Spirit price watch report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, petrol price increased year-on-year but recorded a decline of 1.46 per cent on a month-on-month basis relative to N168.06 recorded in May 2021.
This indicates a relative decline in the cost of the commodity when compared to the previous month, a reflection of the statement made by the federal government in May 2021 that petrol price will not increase in June 2021.
The statement was made by the minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva that the current price of petrol will be retained until the engagement with the organised labour is concluded.
Analysis of the latest data shows that the price of petrol in Nigeria has averaged N162.56 in the past year, peaking at N72.68 per litre in March 2021 and a low of N143.63 in July 2020.
It is worth noting that, though there was no budgetary allocation for subsidy in the 2021 budget, experts speculated that the Nigerian government is likely to have begun subsidising fuel prices again.
The landing cost of PMS is estimated at N180/litre and currently selling at an average of N165, which represents an average subsidy of N15 per litre.
Recall, that following the launch of the Nigerian Upstream Cost Optimisation Program on 9 February 2021, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylvia hinted at the inevitable increase in the price of petrol as no budgetary provisions for subsidy was made in the 2021 budget.
However, he has maintained lately that there will be no further increase in the price of petrol in Nigeria until the dialogue with the organised labour is concluded.
