As Liberia maintains its place as one of the countries where petroleum products are sold at a lower rate in the West African sub-region, the Government of Liberia has with immediate effect increased prices of gasoline and diesel fuel on the local market.
The announcement of the increment was contained in a petroleum price circular issued by the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on late Monday (October 30, 2018) evening.
According to the petroleum circular, the retail pump price for a gallon of gasoline has increased from US$3.55 or its Liberian dollar equivalent of US$560.00 to US$3.95 or its Liberian dollar equivalent of L$615.00.
The decision to increase the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel, according to the LPRC circular, is due to the shift in the parameters that are frequently used to determine the prices of these products in the country.
Comparative price analysis, conducted by global petroleum prices network (www.globalpetroleumprices.com), in selected countries in the sub-region indicates that the prices of petroleum products in Liberia are among the lowest in West Africa.
Except for Liberia where the price of gasoline is now US$3.70 cents and diesel Fuel is US$3.95 cents; the case with Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Ghana is totally different.
For Ghana, the current price of a gallon of gasoline is US$4.12 cents while Diesel fuel is US$4.28 cents; in Sierra Leone, a gallon of gasoline is now sold at US$3.61 while diesel Fuel US$3.61 cents.
A gallon of gasoline is currently sold for US$4.03 cents in neighboring Ivory Coast, while a gallon of diesel fuel is also sold for US$3.97 cents.
Also in neighboring Guinea, the price of a gallon of gasoline is US$4.15 cents while diesel fuel is sold for the same amount.
“The Ministry of Commerce inspectorate will closely monitor the approved ceiling prices to avoid the arbitrary hike in the pump prices of gasoline and fuel on the local market,” the LPRC circular revealed.
The circular further warned that the Ministry of Commerce will also be closely monitoring the effectiveness of the price circular to ensure that importers do not undercut fellow competitors on the market.
