Diesel Hits New Price Weeks Before Christmas, See Current Price Per Liter

Diesel prices have hit N978 per litre as of Tuesday, November 28. This is according to data shared by HydroCarbon Information Services (HydroCIS) Limited.

According to the data made available to VerseNews, average diesel prices around the country as of Tuesday were N978 per liter, meanwhile on November 23, average nationwide diesel prices were N974 per liter.

On November 20, nationwide diesel prices were N993 per liter.

Note that on September 21, Russia announced stopping the export of diesel to most countries, except a few nearby nations, to stabilize its own domestic market.

However, by September 25th, Russia eased some of these restrictions. They permitted the export of bunkering fuel for specific vessels and also allowed the export of diesel with higher sulfur levels.

This decision came at a time when there was a global shortage of diesel, causing prices to soar. Russia is a major diesel exporter globally.

In Nigeria, diesel prices reached over N1000 per litre in October 2023. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a significant increase in the average retail price of diesel.

In October, it rose to N1004.98 per litre from N890.80 in September, marking a 12.82% rise in just a month.

Comparing it on a yearly basis, the average diesel price surged by 25.45% from its previous figure of N801.09.

The NBS report also highlighted the states in Nigeria with the highest and lowest diesel prices. In October 2023, Plateau State had the highest price at N1150.00, Nasarawa State at N1138.00, and Benue State at N1091.67. On the other hand, Rivers State had the lowest price at N824.44, followed by Borno State at N827.27, and Kebbi State at N845.00.

It is important to note that Nigerian manufacturers and businesses have struggled with rising diesel costs. Many of these businesses are connected to the national grid and due to the epileptic power supply, they receive daily, have resorted to the use of diesel generators to run their businesses, especially in the operation of heavy machinery.

To put this situation into perspective, over a year ago, the managing director at Eden Moringa, Dr Ashimashiga Michael told Nairametrics that his manufacturing business operates for eight hours on a daily basis.

According to him, for six to seven hours, the business relies on a diesel generator to function.

At the time, he said: “At our factory, we make use of industrial meters for on-grid power, yet we spend way more on diesel generators. We spend over N300,000 to N400,000 monthly on diesel purchases to run the business.”

Those business costs have now increased significantly as diesel prices have been on an upward trend since 2022.