The Institute for Energy Security (IES) is projecting a fall in fuel prices by three per cent later in the month as Brent crude, gasoline and gasoil prices on the world market keep falling.

The IES attributes the rise in prices of petrol and diesel at the various pumps during the first pricing window in the month of March to the volatility of the Ghana cedi on the interbank forex market.

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According to a statement released by the IES, the national average retail price for petrol and diesel jumped by 1.18% and 2.6% respectively.

This made petrol sell at GHS4.28 per litre as diesel also sold at GHS4.21 per litre

The energy authority say, the benchmark Brent crude price for the first pricing window in the month of March dropped by 4.4 per cent, resulting in an average of $53.5 per barrel.

This development they say is as a result of a rise in U.S. shale production, which is threatening the output cuts by OPEC and major crude-producing nations.

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On the back of the Platts benchmark prices within the same period for gasoline, there was a 6.75 per cent drop while gasoil fell by 2.65 per cent. This left gasoline and gasoil prices on the world market closing at $530.63 per metric tonne and $472.48 per metric tonne respectively.

However, the IES say Ghanaians can take a sigh of relief because the Local Forex and Fuel Stock Figures from the banking sector indicate that the cedi performed relatively well against the U.S. dollar.

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They explain that, the appreciation of the cedi coupled with falling prices of commodity on the world market will cause a decline in fuel prices on the local market.

“IES can comfortably project fuel prices on the local market to fall by at least 3%.”