Fuel price floors for petrol and diesel have been marginally reduced for the first pricing window of May, signaling a slight easing in Ghana’s downstream petroleum market.

At the minimum level, petrol is expected to sell at GH¢13.25 per litre, down from GH¢13.27 per litre in the second pricing window of April. This represents a 2 pesewas reduction.

Diesel will also see a more notable reduction, with a price floor of GH¢14.30 per litre, down from GH¢16.10 per litre in the preceding window. This represents a GH¢1.80 drop.

The LPG price floor for the first pricing window of May has, however, increased sharply to GH¢13.02 per kilogram, up from GH¢10.79 per kilogram in the second pricing window of April. This represents an uptick of GH¢2.23.

The downward adjustment in the price floor for petrol and diesel comes as government cushioned consumers by absorbing about GH¢2.00 on diesel and 36 pesewas on petrol, a temporary intervention introduced at the start of the second pricing window of April for a one-month period.

The move was aimed at mitigating the impact of rising fuel prices driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The National Petroleum Authority indicates that, in line with the Petroleum Products Pricing Guidelines, all Oil Marketing Companies and LPG Marketing Companies are required to comply with the stipulated price floors for the period under review.

The regulator explains that the announced price floors do not include premiums charged by International Oil Trading Companies, the operating margins of Bulk Import, Distribution and Export Companies, as well as marketers’ and dealers’ margins.

These components remain variable and are determined independently by industry players under the pricing guidelines framework.