By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
Consumers of Kerosene in December 2023, experienced unprecedented increase retail price reaching N1,362.27 per litre nationwide.
This marked a 5.84 per cent increase, compared to the N1,287.10 recorded in November, the same year.
A report on Tuesday from Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), stated that on a year-on-year basis, the surge amounted to a 23.33 per cent, moving from N1,104.61 in December 2022, adding that an in-depth state analysis unveiled differences in prices across the nation.
NBS noted that Abuja led the pack with the highest average price per litre at N1,650.00, closely trailed by Ogun at N1,609.52 and Benue at N1,594.44, while Kwara emerged with the lowest price recorded at N917.14, followed by Rivers with N969.70 and Nasarawa with N1,071.43.
According to the report, NBS explained that the South West experienced the highest average retail price per litre of household kerosene, reaching N1,455.21.
The North West, according to the report followed closely at N1,420.48, while the South East recorded the lowest at N1,264.49.
“Consumers paid an average of N4,529.92 for household kerosene in December 2023, indicating a slight decline of 1.17% from the N4,583.44 recorded in November 2023 by shifting the focus to the per-gallon prices,” the report explained.
It explained that there is a substantial increase of 20.69 per cent from N3,753.38 in December 2022 based on a year-on-year basis.
The state-level analysis for per-gallon prices revealed Bauchi topping the list at N5,600.00, trailed by Lagos at N5,273.53 and Ekiti at N5,234.38. Conversely, Delta recorded the lowest price at N3,234.29, followed by Bayelsa and Kaduna with N3,538.03 and N3,560.00, respectively.
Zone-wise, according to the report, the North-East led with the highest average retail price per gallon of household kerosene at N5,077.08, closely followed by the South West at N5,014.48.
In contrast, it explained that the South-South recorded the lowest average price per gallon at N3,957.17, rounding off the challenging pricing landscape for consumers in the final month of 2023.
