TheCable

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has announced an increase in the expected retail price of petrol.

In a petrol pricing template published on its website late Thursday, PPPRA said the recommended retail price is between N209.61 and N212.61 per litre.

According to the document, the landing cost of petrol is N189.61.

The ex-depot price, which is the rate marketers get the product, was fixed at N206.42.

Nigerians have been anticipating an increase in the retail price of petrol after crude oil price rose to as high as $71 per barrel.

However, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) ruled out an increase in the ex-depot price of petrol in March saying it had enough stock to last for 40 days.

Kennie Obateru, the NNPC spokesman, had said the decision was taken “in order not to jeopardise ongoing engagements with organised labour and other stakeholders on an acceptable framework that will not expose the ordinary Nigerian to any hardship”.

In February, the NNPC had also allayed fears over the possible increase in the price of petrol, amid concerns on the rising price of crude oil on the global market.

Nigeria currently runs a price modulation system where the retail price of petrol is fixed to mirror occurrences in the global market.

In February, Timipre Sylvia, the minister of state for petroleum resources, advised Nigerians to be ready to bear the pain of higher petrol prices because there was no budget for under-recovery; the term given to the differential between landing cost and fixed retail price.