- Many African countries are grappling with high price of petrol following high inflation
- Some countries in East Africa are paying more petrol than their counterparts in other African countries
- DRC and Malawi, among others, lead the countries with the highest petrol prices in September
Since the beginning of 2023, there has been a surge in energy costs globally, with consumers bearing the brunt.
Fluctuating inflation rates have continued exacerbating issues for energy consumers worldwide, with Nigeria’s headline inflation peaking at 24.08% for August.
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Average petrol price rises in September
The average global inflation rate has peaked at 8.27% in 2022, an increase of 4.8% from 2021.
These and other indicators have affected energy prices, especially petrol in African countries.
On May 29, 2023, the Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu, announced the subsidy removal from petrol, which instantly drove the commodity’s price to the roof.
However, the African economy has remained vulnerable, caused mainly by the ongoing unprovoked Russian Invasion of Ukraine, which has caused a surge in energy prices worldwide.
Some countries in Africa are grappling with increases in energy prices, especially petrol, which sells very highly in some African countries.
Countries in East Africa such as Kenya and Tanzania are currently battling the rising cost of petrol prices.
About 10 African countries made the list of countries with the highest petrol prices in Africa.
Nigeria secures oil swap deal President halts further increases in petrol prices
The development comes amid a $3 billion oil swap deal obtained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) from Afreximbank to help steady the petrol prices in Nigeria.
This move follows the pronouncement by Tinubu that there will not be further hikes in petrol prices in Nigeria, leading to speculations that the Nigerian government may have subtly reintroduced petrol subsidies.
Marketers in Nigeria have continued to lament the scarcity of foreign exchange, which has hampered them from importing petrol, leaving NNPC as the major importer of the product.
The countries with the highest fuel prices are shown against their August figures, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
- DRC – $1.798/litre
- Malawi – $1.648/litre
- Senegal -$1.618/litre
- Zimbabwe -1.610/litre
- Seychelles – $1.586/litre
- Mauritius – $1.512/litre
- Cape Verde – $1.508/litre
- Morocco – $1.473/litre
- Zambia – $1.435/litre
- Mali – $1.416/litre
Subsidy Removal: Nigeria now sells petrol at the same price as Ghana, 9 other African countries
TopLatestNews earlier reported that a recent comparative study of the recent increase in petrol prices in Nigeria shows that Nigeria is now selling the product close to the same amount as its West African neighbours, making it unattractive for smugglers.
According to data from Global Petrol Prices, prices across Africa are no longer as wide, creating an arbitrage incentivizing the petrol smuggling industry in Africa and hurting Nigeria’s economy.
The difference in price between Nigeria and the Benin Republic is less than N150 and about N200 per litre for some other countries in West Africa, showing that Nigeria’s subsidy removal will ruin the market for illicit petrol across Africa.
Source: TopLatestNews
