Petrol price soars 230% to N626.70 in August – Report

The average retail price of a litre of petrol surged by 230.75%, climbing from N189.46 in August of the preceding year to N626.70 in August 2023, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS unveiled its Petrol Price Watch for August 2023 in Abuja on a Friday, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria.

Additionally, when compared to the previous month of July 2023, the average retail price experienced a 4.39% increase from N600.35.

More insight

In a breakdown of the prices by state, Taraba had the highest average retail price of N680 per litre, followed by Borno and Benue at N657.27 and N649, respectively.

Conversely, Adamawa had the lowest average retail price of N594.81 per litre, followed by Rivers at N596.80 and Delta at N604.63.

Analysis by zone showed that the Northeast recorded the highest average retail price in August 2023 at N636.93 per litre, while the South-South had the lowest at N616.95 per litre.

The NBS also reported in its Diesel Price Watch Report for August 2023 that the average retail price was N854.32 per litre.

It further explained that the August 2023 price of N854.32 per litre marked an 8.57% increase over the N786.88 per litre paid in August 2022.

What you should know

On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 7.53% from the N794.48 per litre recorded in July 2023.

When analyzing diesel prices by state, the report noted that the highest average price in August 2023 was recorded in Abia at N970 per litre, followed by Niger at N960.14 per litre, and Abuja at N950.22 per litre.

In contrast, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa at N700 per litre, followed by Katsina State at N771.43 per litre, and Kaduna State at N775.42 per litre.

Furthermore, the analysis by zone showed that the North-Central had the highest price at N907.86 per litre, while the South-South recorded the lowest price at N820.02 per litre.