Benue, Abia Record Highest Petrol Prices

CONSUMERS of premium motor spirit (PMS) in Benue, Abia and Cross Rivers states paid the highest price per litre last month, data by the National Bureau of Statistics have revealed.

In Benue, the average price of PMS in June was N183.29, a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 1.36 per cent and year-on-year increase 41.51 per cent. The average price of a litre of the product in Benue was about N18 higher than the national average (N165.61).

The average PMS price in June was N2.77 less than that of May’s N166.38. March recorded the highest average PMS as NN172.68.

Detailed analysis of the price movement in June shows that the price of the commodity declined 1.46 per cent MoM and increased 28.49 YoY.

Abia and Cross Rivers states came second and third on the PMS monthly price index. Abia residents paid an average price of N171.88 per litre while those of Cross Rivers paid 170.5, reflecting a yearly jump of 37.94 per cent and 35.72 per cent respectively.

On the reserve, PMS price declined marginally MoM in Taraba, Borno and Katsina states. Price in Taraba was N157.33; that of Borno was N160.1 while Katsina’s was N160.86. The three states with the lowest PMS prices in the north, a region located hundreds of miles away from the Lagos ports where imported PMS and other petroleum products land.

On a regional basis, the northeast had the cheapest PMS at N161.4 while the most expensive place PMS sold was N168.84.

Consumers of states along international borders in the north, historically, pay higher prices than those of hinterland, at least, as revealed by statistics.

In terms of percentage change, Nasarawa recorded a MoM increase of 4.82 per cent while Benue recorded the highest Y0Y increase (41.51 per cent). Lagos recorded – 11.23 per cent MoM change, which was the lowest in the month.