The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, has continued its upward swing rising by 7.1 per cent in the last month, thus making life more difficult for Nigerians who are struggling with food inflation.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch for March 2024, notes that the average retail price for a kilogramme cylinder of LPG increased by 7.1 per cent on a month-on-month basis from N6,154.50 recorded in February 2024 to N6,591.62 in March 2024.
On a year-on-year basis, the NBS says this increased by 42.97 percent from N4,610.48 in March 2023.
South-South geopolitical zone recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas with N16,859.85, followed by the South-East with N16,734.87, while the North-East recorded the lowest price with N14,943.48.
On state profile analysis, Kano recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder with N7,609, followed by Ogun with N7,363.64, and Akwa Ibom with N7,162.5.
On the other hand, Adamawa recorded the lowest price with N5,312.5, followed by Taraba and Zamfara with N5,375 and N5,550 respectively.
In a related development, the price per litre of household kerosene (HHK) only increased marginally by one per cent in the last month.
The NBS reports that the average retail price per litre of HHK paid by consumers in March 2024 was N1,354.4, showing a marginal increase of one per cent compared to N1,340.94 recorded in February 2024.
On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product rose by 18.55 percent from N1,142.46 in March 2023.
On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in March 2024 was recorded in Kaduna with N1,875, followed by Benue with N1,773.74 and Niger with N1,719.36. On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Rivers with N1,070.79, followed by Sokoto with N1,095.33 and Kwara with N1,110.9.
In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-Central recorded the highest average retail price per litre of Household Kerosene with N1,497.13, followed by the North-East with N1,393.59, while the South-South recorded the lowest with N1,273.07.
The average retail price per gallon of Household Kerosene paid by consumers in March 2024 was N4,899.33, indicating an increase of 0.40 per cent from N4,880.02 in February 2024.
On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 19.34 percent from N4,105.25 in March 2023.
Adamawa recorded the highest average retail price per gallon of Household Kerosene with N6,110.44, followed by Bauchi with N5,922.30 and Yobe with N5,800.69, while Delta recorded the lowest price with N4,039.14, followed by Abuja and Enugu with N4,300.00 and N4,430.95 respectively. Analysis by zone showed that the North-East recorded the highest average retail price per gallon of Household Kerosene with N5,579.78, followed by the North West with N5,094.26, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N4,527.31.
