The Pipeline Products Marketing Company (PPMC) may crash the prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) petrol this month, The Nation learnt at the weekend.

Speaking with The Nation on phone, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi, said the marketers are looking forward to a downward review of the ex-depot price for October.

He based his forecast on the decline crude prices. The Brent Crude that was $40 per barrel is today $39. 38.

He however, said the marketers were expecting announcement of the new price from the PPMC, which is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

But Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had last month said the price of petrol is not solely a factor of crude oil prices.

Its Executive Secretary, Abdulkadir Saidu, dropped hint marketers have the approval for fixing the prices of petrol because it has been deregulated.

According to the agency, only market forces determine the prices of any deregulated product.

The Federal Government deregulated the product in March this year.

Last month, the PPMC pegged the ex-depot price at N151. 56 per litre and deliberately shirked the responsibility of announcing the pump price.

With the leverage, the marketers across the country have sold the PMS for between N158 and N162 per litre.

In that month of September the Brent Crude sold for $46 per barrel.

The PPMC had on 2nd September, 2020 in a brief internal memo with ref: “PPMC /IB/LS/020, dates September 2, 2020, the company said “a new product price adjustment has been effected on our payment platform.

“To this end the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is now one hundred and fifty one naira, fifty six kobo (N151.61) per litre.”

The Head Depot Manager, D.O. Agbalaya, who signed the memo said: “This is effective from 2nd September, 2020.”

The price of the Brent crude was $46 per barrel on Friday.

The marketers sold petrol for between N145.80 to N150 per litre in the month of August.

PPPRA had on August 4 approved an ex-depot price of N138.62 per litre for the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS ) petrol and kept the pump price to its chest.

The agency reviewed it upward by N6 from its previous N132.00 per litre of July.

The Federal Government based its hike on the increase in the prices of crude oil in the month of August.

The Brent Crude sold that for $43.24 per barrel in July rose to $44.03 per barrel in August.

It deregulated the product in March this year.

In the month of July, the agency had approved a pump price of a band of N140.80 to N143.80 per litre.

It was the first time that the agency approved a new price after the removal of petrol subsidy.

Prior to the July 1 hike, the agency had on May 1, approved price band of N121.50 to N123.50 per litre for the product.

Source:- The Nation

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