Nigerians’ average retail price for petrol increased by 223.21% in May, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This was stated by the agency in its “Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch” report for May 2024, which was made public on Thursday.
The NBS reported that, in May 2024, customers paid an average retail price of N769.62 for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), which represented a 223.21% increase over the figure recorded in May 2023 (N238.11).
The bureau further stated that the average retail price grew by 9.75 percent from N701.24 to N701.24 when comparing the average price value with the previous month, or April 2024.
Based on the State profile study, the report found that Benue and Ondo states had the lowest average retail petrol prices, at N882.22, and Jigawa State had the highest, at N937.50.
The lowest average retail prices for petrol were reported to be N636.80, N642.16, and N645.15 in the states of Lagos, Niger, and Kwara. According to the NBS, the North-central zone had the lowest average retail price at N695.04, and the North-west zone had the highest average retail price at N845.26, respectively.
Diesel
The NBS stated that the average retail price that consumers paid for diesel climbed by 66.29% annually in its Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) Price Watch report for May 2024.
Continuing, the price increased to N1403.96 per litre in May 2024 from a lower cost of N844.28 per litre in the same month of the previous year, May 2023, according to the agency.
The NBS reported that month over month, there was a 0.78 percent decline, from an average of N1415.06 in the previous month of April 2024 to an average of N1403.96 in April 2024.
The analysis states that in May 2024, Adamawa State (N1709.00), Sokoto State (N1675.00), and Bauchi (N1657.92) will have the highest average product prices.
Oyo State (N1236.92), Kano State (N1153.33), and Niger State (N1140.20) were the top three lowest prices, according to the report.
The report states, “The Zonal representation of the average price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) shows that North-East Zone has the highest price of N1605.91 while South West Zone has the lowest price N1303.60 when compared with other Zones.”
Cooking gas
The NBS stated that the average retail price for refuelling a 5 kilogramme cooking gas cylinder grew by 13.75 percent monthly from N6,521.58 reported in April 2024 to N7,418.45 in May 2024 in its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch report for May 2024.
The report revealed, “On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 70.12 percent from N4,360.69 in May 2023.”
The South-east was found to have the highest average retail price of N7,680.87 for refilling a 5 kilogramme cooking gas can, followed by the South-west with N6,593.93, and the North-east with N7,071.84.
