The landing cost of petrol in Nigeria has hit a new record of N1,000 per litre due to the worsening foreign exchange crisis.
This occurred after the naira crossed over N1,500 to the dollar on Monday in both the official and unofficial market.
The landing cost of imported petrol, which includes the product’s foreign pricing, transportation, insurance, and other charges, rose to N1,009/litre in October 2023 from N720/litre at the black-market rate of N1,500 per dollar.
Analysts believe that the government is still quietly subsidizing petrol to ease the hardship already faced by Nigerians. The rising landing cost of petrol results from the rising FX crisis, and there are interventions in the market through subsidies as most Nigerians cannot afford the market price for petrol.
The government partially subsidizes the commodity for social, political, and economic reasons.
Oil marketers speculate that the price of petrol might rise following the naira crash against the dollar. It is likely that Nigerians may see a hike in the price of the commodity as inflation and scarcity of Forex persist.
The Nigerian government revealed that the Port Harcourt Refinery was still undergoing a test run, and products from the facility will soon hit the market. The government has reduced subsidy but is yet to eliminate it to ease the affairs of Nigerians.
