For the third time within a week, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has raised the gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit selling at N1,175 per litre.
The refinery announced the new price to marketers on Monday, raising the gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit by N180 to N1,175 per litre from N995 per litre announced on Friday, representing an increase of about 18.1 per cent within three days.
It also revised the gantry price of Automotive Gas Oil, commonly known as diesel, to N1,620 per litre.
The gantry price of petrol had earlier been hiked from N774 to N995 per litre, forcing retail pump prices in several states above N1,000 per litre, even as some stations dispensed petrol at about N1,200/litre.
The company had suspended sale of petrol temporarily on Sunday, prompting speculations that a price increase was in the offing.
As at 12 noon on Monday, the revised rates had already been uploaded on the industry pricing platform, petroleumprice.ng, indicating a shift in the benchmark price used by downstream marketers.
There are fears across many sectors of the economy that the increasing price of petrol would lead to increase in the cost of goods and services, piling more economic pressure on Nigerians.
The latest hike is expected to trigger another round of increases at filling stations nationwide, as higher fuel costs typically translate into higher transportation, logistics, and production costs for businesses.
Many Nigerians who have watched the recent developments with interest contend that the fuel price increase is a reaction to the brewing crisis in the middle-east, and the jump in the price of crude oil in the international market.
They contend that were it not for the Dangote Refinery, petrol would have been scarce and Nigerians would have once again faced long queues at filing station, and resorting to black markets to get petrol at exorbitant prices as was the case during such crises in the past.
