Just when the market is begin to adjust to the recently increased price of petrol and cooking gas, the cost of kerosene has climbed to an all-time high of N800 per litre.
According to a market study conducted by The PUNCH on Tuesday, one litre of cooking kerosene, which cost N700 last week, is now available for between N800 and N850 in metropolitan areas of Lagos State, with filling stations charging as high as N1000 per litre.
In Ghana, the price of a litre of cooking kerosene currently sells for GHS 12.044 (N585) per litre.
Unlike petrol, kerosene is a deregulated product, meaning prices are determined by market forces.
“It’s a deregulated market. It is also a function of the dollar to naira rate and the crude price at the international market. Since cooking kerosene is deregulated, prices can go up, it can also come down,” National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi said.
As of June, the National Bureau of Statistics had reported an 88 per cent rise in prices of cooking kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas within one year.
The report said that the average retail price per litre of household kerosene, paid by consumers in May 2022 increased by 15.21 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N589.82 in April 2022 to N679.54 in May 2022.
The state profile analysis showed that the highest average price per litre in May 2022 was recorded in Enugu with N868.75, followed by Ebonyi with N861.11 and Imo with N801.67. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa with N558.06, followed by Yobe with N601.39, and Nasarawa with N603.33.
