Continuous fall of the naira against the United States dollar and the recent rise in global crude oil prices, are making Nigerians apprehensive of a possible hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.
Even though the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other oil marketers have not announced any increase in petrol price, they confirmed that the scarcity of foreign exchange and crude oil price rise were key factors that determined PMS price.
Petrol price moved up from N198/litre in May to over N500/litre in June and again to over N600/litre in July, after President Bola Tinubu removed subsidy on PMS.
There were concerns that it might rise further in August, going by the crash of the naira against the dollar.
The naira dropped below N900 against the dollar on Thursday at the parallel market. It also fell against the US dollar at the official Importers and Exporters forex window.
Also on Thursday, Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil, was traded at about $87/barrel. It traded for less than $80/barrel few weeks ago.
Collins Nnabude, a resident of Abuja, stated: “The crash of the naira against the dollar and the recent rise in crude oil price is making one apprehensive when you consider the effect on petrol price in Nigeria. Fuel price is likely going to rise again this month.”
Oil marketers also confirmed the possibility of another hike in petrol price this month.
The President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PPROOAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, said: “So long as the naira is losing against the dollar, the price of petrol in our retail outlets will continue to increase.”
He called on Tinubu to make sure that Nigeria’s refineries were put back to use.