Federal Government-owned NNPC Limited on Tuesday morning jerked up its petrol pump price to N617 per litre from N537 in Abuja.

The national oil company has not given any reason for the latest price increase following the deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

But checks by Vanguard indicated that each operator is allowed to change price based on its cost elements, under the present deregulation.

It also showed that the dwindling value of the Naira has put pressure on fuel importers, including the NNPC Limited as well as major and independent marketers.

Meanwhile, checks by Vanguard indicated that many motorists and others have rushed to buy petrol as the price hike begins to spread to other cities, including Lagos and environs, where some filling stations have adjusted their pumps to over N600 per litre.

Commenting on the development, the national operations controller, of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, said: “It is not about the NNPC Limited. It is about the market fundamentals. Every marketer stands alone with its different cost elements. The low value of the Naira is currently impacting the market. It is now more than N800 to a dollar.

“This is why the market is responding this way. It has to spread because as operators, our price depends on our cost.

“Even though some importers have been able to import the product, it cannot be cheap because it is based on the current market fundamentals, especially foreign exchange. The public should also know that importers source their foreign exchange from the banks at the current rate. “

Source:Vanguardngr.com