The government has said that the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran is a welcome development, helping to ease global crude oil prices, which had spiked amid heightened geopolitical tensions.
At the peak of the conflict, benchmark crude prices approached $75 per barrel, raising concerns about a possible reversal of recent downward trends in fuel prices at the local pumps.
Analysts warned that prolonged instability in the Middle East could pressure fuel-importing economies like Ghana.
The Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition and Technical Lead For The Gas Processing Plant II Implementation Committee, Dr. Yussif Sulemana, speaking to Citi Business News on the likely implications for domestic energy pricing.
He said that the government does not expect any immediate increase in local fuel prices following the de-escalation.
“Every government will not want pump prices to go up because that has a direct impact on inflation figures…goods and services, transportation, they will all go up. That was a huge relief, and I think it will help the parties themselves know that no one is going to be a winner.
“At the end of the day, there is a lot of destruction in Israel, there is a lot of destruction in Iran, and especially the talk of the closure of that critical strait [of Hormuz]
“Once I believe cool heads have prevailed, and then actors see that this is the way to go and prices [of crude oil] have receded to pre-engagement level in terms of the war, that is how come the prices have dropped, and I believe the price will stay. If it stays, I think it is good for our upstream and downstream,” he said.
source; citinewsroom
