The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, for the second time in less than 48 hours, raising fresh concerns over rising fuel costs.
A market survey on Wednesday showed that the state-owned oil company increased the pump price from N1,270 per litre to N1,335 per litre, representing an additional N65 per litre.
The new price has already taken effect at several NNPCL retail outlets, including filling stations in Wuse Zone 6 (Berger), Zone 4 and other parts of Abuja and its environs.
The latest adjustment comes barely a day after the company raised the pump price by N115 per litre, from N1,155 to N1,270.
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The successive increases underscore the continued volatility in Nigeria’s deregulated downstream petroleum market, where pump prices are increasingly responding to market forces.
Industry analysts attribute the latest hike to the resumption of refined petroleum product sales in U.S. dollars by the Dangote Refinery, a development that has triggered upward adjustments in fuel prices across the country.
The increase also coincides with a sharp rise in global crude oil prices, which climbed by nearly four per cent on Wednesday following renewed airstrikes in the Middle East that heightened fears of possible disruptions to global oil supply.
The latest price adjustment is expected to further increase transportation costs, raise business operating expenses and add to inflationary pressures already facing households and businesses across Nigeria.
