Marketers ordered to reduce fuel price

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on Monday reduced the pump price of petrol to N121.50 per litre. This is the third reduction this year.

This was disclosed in a letter sent to petroleum products marketers, the PPPRA disclosed that the new price band for PMS is now N121.50 and N123.50 per litre, meaning that no marketer is allowed to sell above the highest price range.

Before now, fuel was sold to the public at N125k per litre.

While the Ex-depot price of the commodity was fixed between N102.13 and N104.13 per litre, and the Ex-depot for collection price, which is the price the product is sold to retail outlet owners, at between N109.78 and N111.78 per litre.

The PPPRA said: “Please recall the recently approved pricing regime which became effective 19th March 2020 and the provision for the establishment of a monthly price band within which petroleum marketers are expected to sell PMS at the retail stations.

“After a review of the prevailing market fundamentals in the month of May and considering marketers’ realistic operating costs, as much as practicable, we wish to advice of a new PMS guiding pump price with corresponding Ex-Depot price for the month of June, 2020. All marketers are advised to operate within the indicative prices as advised by the PPPRA.”

It would be recalled that the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) had on May 6, 2020, slashed the ex-depot price of petrol, to N108 per litre for the month of May.

In a memo to oil marketers and other stakeholders in the petroleum marketing business, dated May 5, 2020, with the subject: ‘Re: PPMC Petroleum Products Prices for May 2020,’ the PPMC had also slashed the ex-depot price of Automotive Gasoline Oil, also known as diesel, to N164 per litre for depots in Lagos and N166 per litre for depots in Oghara, Calabar, Port Harcourt, among others.

•Adapted from a report by Voice of Nigeria (VON).