Petroleum consumers in Ghana are expected to face higher fuel prices from Wednesday, September 16, 2026, following significant increases in international crude oil and refined petroleum product prices, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has projected.
According to COPEC, the price of petrol is expected to rise by 4.24%, while diesel could increase by 10.23% in the second pricing window of September.
The chamber also projects that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) will sell at GH¢15.32 per kilogram during the period.
In an analysis released on September 13, COPEC said global crude oil prices had increased significantly from US$89.30 per barrel to US$103.07 per barrel during the pricing window.
The chamber noted that the Ghanaian cedi, however, recorded a marginal appreciation against the US dollar, moving from an average interbank rate of GH¢11.5166 to the dollar at the beginning of the current window to GH¢11.4830 at the close of the window, representing an appreciation of about 0.29%.
Petrol
COPEC said the free-on-board (FOB) price of petrol increased from US$1,136.50 per metric tonne to US$1,251.07 per metric tonne, representing a 10.08% increase.
Taking into account the marginal appreciation of the cedi, the chamber projects the retail price of petrol at GH¢16.26 per litre, up from the current mean price of GH¢15.60.
This represents an expected increase of 4.24%.
COPEC estimates that petrol could sell between GH¢15.44 and GH¢17.08 per litre, allowing for a ±5% variation around its projection.
Diesel
Diesel is expected to record a sharper increase, according to COPEC.
The chamber said the FOB price of diesel rose from US$1,250.50 per metric tonne to US$1,404.73, representing a 12.33% increase.
After factoring in the 0.29% appreciation of the cedi, COPEC projects the retail price of diesel at GH¢19.07 per litre, compared with the current mean price of GH¢17.30.
The projected price represents an increase of 10.23%.
COPEC expects diesel to sell within a range of GH¢18.12 to GH¢20.02 per litre, depending on market and pricing variations.
LPG prices
The chamber also expects LPG consumers to experience a substantial increase in prices.
According to COPEC, the international FOB price of LPG climbed from US$611.75 per metric tonne to US$712.43, representing a 16.45% increase.
With the marginal appreciation of the cedi factored in, COPEC projects LPG to sell at GH¢15.32 per kilogram.
Within a ±5% margin, the chamber expects the commodity to be sold between GH¢14.55 and GH¢16.08 per kilogram.
Call for government intervention
In response to the expected increases, COPEC has appealed to the government to extend its subsidy intervention beyond the first pricing window of September.
The chamber is calling for a GH¢1 per litre relief on petrol while urging the government to maintain the existing GH¢2 per litre intervention on diesel until international petroleum benchmarks return to normal levels.
COPEC also urged the government to accelerate expansion works at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), with the aim of increasing its refining capacity from the current 45,000 barrels per day to 100,000 barrels per day.
The chamber believes the expansion would help reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported finished petroleum products and strengthen domestic refining capacity.
COPEC further appealed to oil marketing companies (OMCs) to consider absorbing part of their margins to cushion consumers against what it described as steep expected fuel price increases.
The statement was signed by Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC.
