Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene Prices Rose in April – NBS

• Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene Prices Rose in April – NBS

The prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene increased in many parts of the country last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in its new reports on the products.

The average price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) increased by 0.4 per cent month-on-month to N145.9 per litre in April 2019 from N145.3 in March 2019 but decreased by 3.6 per cent year-on-year.

States with the highest average price of petrol were Bayelsa (N148.64), Kogi (N147.88) and Yobe (N147.82), according to the NBS.

The bureau said states with the lowest average price of petrol were Katsina (N143.50), Zamfara (N144.43) and Abuja (N144.67).

It said the average price paid by consumers for Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) increased by 0.66 per cent month-on-month and 12.88 per cent year-on-year to N230.67 per litre in April from to N229.16 in March.

According to the NBS, states with the highest average price of diesel were Borno (N249.50), Osun (N245.55) and Niger (N241.90), while those with the lowest average price were Ekiti (N204.40), Rivers (N218.00) and Plateau (N219.11).

Many businesses and households in the country rely heavily on petrol- and diesel-powered generators for electricity as power supply from the national grid remains poor.

Unlike petrol, diesel and kerosene have been deregulated and their pump prices are adjusted to reflect the reality in the global crude oil markets.

Last month, the international oil benchmark, Brent crude, surged to a six-month high of $74.25 per barrel after the United States President, Donald Trump, announced the decision to end waivers that allowed some countries to buy crude oil from Iran without facing US sanctions.

The NBS said the average price per litre paid by consumers for kerosene increased by 4.06 per cent month-on-month and 13.57 per cent year-on-year to N316.26 in April from N303.94 in March.

It said states with the highest average price were Plateau (N361.90), Anambra (N353.47), and Enugu (N353.33), while those with the lowest average price were Gombe (N269.04), Lagos (N272.02) and Nasarawa (N287.45).

Similarly, the average price per gallon paid by consumers for kerosene increased by 1.77 per cent month-on-month and 24.20 per cent year-on-year to N1,211.99 in April from N1,190.89 in March.

According to the bureau, states with the highest average price were Gombe (N1,361.54), Enugu (N1,322.73) and Jigawa (N1,321.43), while those with the lowest average price were Bayelsa (N1,031.67) Akwa Ibom (N1,071.36) and Delta (N1,071.36).