The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday said the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) paid by consumers increased by 59.51per cent on a year-on-year basis from a lower cost of N840.81 per litre recorded in March 2023) to a higher cost of N1341.16 per litre in March 2024.
There is an expectation that the price of diesel may drop in April 2024, following Dangote Petroleum Refinery reduction of the price of diesel from N1200 to 1,000 naira per litre.
While rolling out the products, the refinery supplied at a substantially reduced price of N1,200 per litre three weeks ago, representing over 30 per cent reduction from the previous market price of about N1,600 per litre.
This significant reduction in the price of diesel, at Dangote Petroleum Refinery, is expected to positively affect all the spheres of the economy and ultimately reduce the high inflation rate in the country.
According to NBS, on a month-on-month basis, an increase of 6.69per cent was recorded from N1257.06 in the preceding month of February 2024 to an average of N1341.16 in March 2024.
“Looking at the variations in the State prices, the top three State with the highest average price of the product in March 2024 include Edo State (N1566.67), Jigawa State (N1533.33) and Cross River (N1532.71).
“Furthermore, the top three lowest prices were recorded in the following State namely, Plateau State (N1067.25), Niger State (N1140.00) and Adamawa State (N1175.00).
“The Zonal representation of average price of Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) shows that South South Zone has the highest price of N1419.35 while North Central Zone has the lowest price N1230.98 when compared with other Zones.”
On Premium Motor Spirit , (PMS), the bureau stated that the average retail price paid by consumers for PMS or Petrol for the month of March 2024 was N696.79, indicating a 163.65per cent increase when compared to N264.29 recorded in March 2023.
“Likewise, comparing the average price value with the previous month (.i.e. February 2024), the average retail price increased by 2.56% from N679.36.
“On State profile analysis, Taraba State had the highest average retail price for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), at N761.92, Yobe and Adamawa States were next, with N749.09 and N735.00, respectively.
“On the other side, Lagos, Oyo and Ogun States had the lowest average retail prices for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), at N630.75, N645.88 and N651.25 respectively. Lastly, on Zonal profile, the North East Zone had the highest average retail price of N732.37, while the South West Zone had the lowest price of N654.24,” the report added.
