Fuel price increases by 157.57% in a year

The prices of premium motor spirit (PMS) and of automotive gas oil (AGO) have risen by 157.57 per cent and 50.2 per cent respectively in the 12 months covering February 2023 to last month.

A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, stated that the price of petrol increased from N263.76 per litre in February 2023 to N679.36 per litre in February 2024.

The increase shows a 157.57 per cent change.

The report further indicated that diesel prices increased from N836.91 per litre recorded in February 2023 to N1,257.06 per litre last month.

On a month-on-month basis, the rise in the price of petrol was 1.66 per cent, moving it up to an average of N668.3 per litre while diesel rose by 9.02 per cent from the N1,153.01 it was in January 2024.

States with the highest retail price for petrol in February

Zamfara state - N750.43

Kebbi state - N746.67

Taraba state - N710.56

States with the lowest retail prices of petrol

Kwara state - N650

Ogun state - 650.83

Benue state - 652.73

The country has been battling with rising inflation, especially in the food sector, which has been blamed largely on the high cost of transportation.

BEB