Oil marketers have said that if the dollar continues to trade between N910 to N950 at the parallel market, the cost of petrol could increase to between N680/litre and N720/litre in the coming days.
They also suggested that dealers seeking to import petrol were being forced to put the plans on hold due to the scarcity of foreign exchange to import the commodity.
The warning came one week after the local currency crossed the N900/dollar ceiling, with the naira selling at over 945/dollar at the parallel market on Friday.
Politics Nigeria observed that queues have resurfaced in some parts of Lagos and Abuja on Monday.
Oil dealers said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Importers and Exporters official window for foreign exchange, which boast of a lower exchange rate of about $740/litre, had remained illiquid and unable to provide the $25 million to $30 million required for the importation of petrol by dealers.
This, they said, had led to the suspension petrol importation by dealers who were initially eager to import the commodity.
Operators revealled that a marketer who recently imported the commodity was now finding it tough to recoup its investment due to the depreciation of the naira.
Senior officials of major oil dealers said petrol price hike was imminent unless the local currency appreciates in the coming weeks.
Leaders of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, and Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria said there was a need for the federal government to intervene to address the crisis.
The IPMAN national public relations officer, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, explained that the price of petrol was now driven by the fluctuations in forex, hence Nigerians should expect a hike soon.
Asked whether oil marketers were considering an increase in petrol price, he replied, “Once there is a slack in the naira against the dollar, there is going to be an effect.
The demand and supply of forex is a key factor. We should also understand that it is not only petroleum products that use forex.
“Other manufacturers who import one thing or the other are also searching for dollars. So, the surge for dollars has continued to increase. So now that the dollar is hitting N910 to N940, and approaching N1,000, you should expect to buy PMS at the rate of N750/litre.
“It is simple mathematics, once the dollar is going up, have it in mind that the prices of petroleum products would definitely increase because the products are dollar-driven,” he told Punch.
Ukadike stated that oil marketers were still sourcing dollars from the parallel market, as the CBN’s Importers and Exporters official window was illiquid.
“Nigerians should brace for a price regime of between N680 to N720 if the exchange rate stays around N910 to N950/$, but the price is going to hit N750 once the dollar rises to N1,000.”
