The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the average retail price of a litre of petrol increased from N185.30 in March 2022 to N264.29 in March 2023.
It stated in its Petrol Price Watch for March 2023 released in Abuja, yesterday, that the price of N264.29 represented a 42.63 per cent increase over the price of N185.30 recorded in March 2022.
“Comparing the average price value with the previous month of February 2023, the average retail price increased by 0.20 per cent from N263.76.
“On states profiles analysis, Imo paid the highest average retail price of N332.67 per litre, followed by Taraba at N330.00 and Borno at N324.55.
“Conversely, Benue paid the lowest average retail price of N195.00, followed by Plateau at N196.79 and Nasarawa at N197.50.”
Analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price in March 2023 at N306.00 per litre while North Central recorded the lowest at N205.10 per litre.
The NBS also stated in its Diesel Price Watch Report for March 2023 that the average retail price paid by consumers increased by 55.90 per cent on a year on year basis.
It explained that the retail price moved from a lower cost of N539.32 per litre recorded in March 2022 to a higher cost of N836.81 per litre in March 2023.
“On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 0.47 per cent from the N836.91 per litre recorded in February 2023 to an average of N840.81 in March 2023 ,’’ it added.
On state profiles analysis, the report said the highest average price of diesel in March 2023 was recorded in Bauchi at N910.46 per litre, followed by Abuja at N889.44 and Adamawa at N880.33 per litre.
On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa at N768.04 per litre, followed by Katsina at N779.78 per litre and Edo at N797.14 per litre.
In addition, the analysis by zone showed that the North East had the highest price at N856.42 per litre, while the South-South Zone recorded the lowest price at N816.92 per litre.
Meanwhile, the agency’s Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for March showed the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased from N4,600.57 recorded in February to N4,610.48 in March.
The report said the March 2023 price represented a 0.22 per cent increase, compared to what was obtained in February 2023.
It said on a year-on-year basis, the increase was 22.03 per cent from N3,778.30 recorded in March 2022.
On state profile analysis, the report showed that Kwara recorded the highest average price of N4,962.87 for 5kg cooking gas, followed by Abuja at N4,940.00, and Adamawa at N4,915.00.
It said on the other hand, Rivers recorded the lowest price at N4,204.45, followed by Abia and Anambra at N4,220.15 and N4,232.75, respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price of N4,872.20, followed by the North-West at N4,651.93.
“The South-East recorded the lowest average retail price at N4,441.55,” the NBS said.
The report said the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas rose by 0.09 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N10,253.39 in February 2023 to N10,262.56 in March 2023.
“On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 34.72 per cent from N7,617.71 recorded in March 2022 to N10,262.56 in March 2023.”
State profile analysis showed that Jigawa recorded the highest average retail price of N11,687.00 for 12.5kg cooking gas, followed by Akwa Ibom at N10,880.20 and Cross River at N10,810.65.
On the other hand, the report showed that the lowest average price for 12.5kg of cooking gas was recorded in Ebonyi at N9,500.00, followed by Yobe and Gombe with N9,600.00 and N9,766.67, respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the South-South recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cooking gas at N10,507.72, followed by the North-West at N10,435.35.
The report said the North-East recorded the lowest price of refining 12.5kg cooking gas at N9,808.50.
However, the average retail price per litre of kerosene dropped to N1,142.46 in March 2023 on a month-on-month basis, showing a decline of 2.68 per cent, compared to N1,173.89 recorded in February 2023.
According to its National Kerosene Price Watch for March 2023, on a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of kerosene rose by 102.37 per cent from N564.55 in March 2022.
On state profile analysis, the report showed the highest average price per litre of kerosene in March 2023 was recorded in Adamawa at N1,595.24, followed by Abuja at N1,368.52 and Bauchi at N1,314.58.
“On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Jigawa at N916.67, followed by Kaduna at N955.00 and Edo at N957.14.”
The NBS said the analysis further showed that the North-East recorded the highest average retail price per litre of Kerosene at N1,256.59, followed by the South-East at N1,248.68.
It said the North-West recorded the lowest average retail price per litre of kerosene at N981.47.
The report said the average retail price per gallon of Kerosene paid by consumers in March 2023 was N4,105.25, indicating a 4.56 per cent increase from N3,926.23 recorded in February 2023.
“On a year-on-year basis, the average price per gallon of kerosene increased by 104.07 per cent from N2,011.70 recorded in March 2022.