We need clear foreign exchange policy to address petroleum price hikes, says COPEC 

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has urged the Bank of Ghana to develop a clear foreign exchange policy for the country to address the continuous hikes in petroleum prices.

COPEC’s call comes on the back of increment in petroleum prices at the pumps in the second pricing window, which commenced on 1 August 2023.

Currently, some major Oil Marketing Companies are selling diesel XP at GHC12.95 and Super XP also at GHC12.95, from a previous GHC12.45.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, in Accra, Duncan Amoah, executive secretary of COPEC, attributed the new prices to increased petroleum prices on the global market.

He said the central bank must, therefore, come up with a clear foreign exchange policy to strengthen the cedi to ensure a stable price in the country.

“We just ended the first half, from the look of things, price of oil could increase in the second half of the year, so we need the BoG to have a perfect idea as to what to do with the currency,” he said.

Oil prices witnessed little change on Tuesday, with trading near a three-month high on Monday, with signs of tightening global supply, as producers implement output cuts, and strong demand in the United States, the world’s biggest fuel consumer.

Brent crude futures for October are at US$85.25 a barrel at 0402 GMT, down 18 cents or 0.2% lower from its close.

Front-month Brent settled at its highest since 13 April on Monday, according to a Barrel of Oil Equivalent (BOE) report.

In June, OPEC agreed on a broad deal to limit oil supply into 2024, and Saudi Arabia pledged an additional voluntary cut of one million barrels per day for July.

On 3 July, Saudi Arabia said the cut would include August, adding that it could be extended further.

Amoah also warned that should the two factors – increase in oil price at the world market and instability of the cedi increase in the second half, prices of petroleum would increase significantly at the pumps.

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