According to the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, the forces of supply and demand as well as the depreciation of the foreign exchange rate prevented the price of Premium Motor Spirit from plummeting even after the Nigerian government, the Dangote Refinery, and other refiners eventually renewed their naira-for-crude agreement.

In a Tuesday interview, IPMAN spokeswoman Chinedu Ukadike revealed this to reporters.

According to oilprice.com, Ukadike was discussing why Nigerians did not witness a sharp decline in fuel costs in the local market despite the decline in global crude oil prices, which on Tuesday morning were $65 per barrel for Brent and $61 for WTI crude blends.

Prior to the start of the tariff battle by US President Donald Trump’s administration, it was claimed that the price of petroleum had fallen from about $67 globally.

In recent days, Trump and China have been tit-for-tat over tariffs that affect international trade, particularly that of crude oil.

Similarly, the current drop in crude oil prices was also brought on by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC+) agreement to reduce supplies.

However, there has been a discernible lull in global crude prices since Trump declared a moratorium in tariffs on all countries except China.

The fact that local prices have not yet been affected by the global decline in oil prices has been bemoaned by Nigerians.

According to Nurudeen Abdullahi, an Abuja resident, local gasoline prices should not exceed N850 a liter as long as the naira-for-oil exchange rate and the price of crude on the global market continue.

“To be fair with you, local petrol prices should be around N850 per litre or less following the current benchmark of crude oil prices, which stood around $65 per barrel, down from $72,” he told newsmen.

Another Nigerian, Evelyn Adebayo, expressed a similar view over expectations of the crash of local fuel prices.

“I believe refiners and marketers are not fair to Nigerians. If it were petrol price hike, they would have implemented it without hesitation.

“But I am surprised that local petrol prices did not drop in a commensurate level as crude prices in the international market,” she stated.

A N10 decrease in the ex-depot price of gasoline was announced by Dangote Refinery.

Following the Nigerian government implementation committee’s pledge to maintain the Naira-for-crude program, it decided to lower ex-depot gasoline prices.

Ukadike responded by clearing marketers, claiming that supply and demand factors prevented the local gasoline price from falling as anticipated.

Local fuel costs may not have crashed because of Nigeria’s foreign exchange rate, which as of Tuesday was N1,604.48 per dollar at the official market, he added.

“The forces of demand and supply in the downstream sector, and the cost of foreign exchange also determine the price of crude and its by-product, fuel.

“The current price of petrol is competitive and fair enough for Nigerians owing to the two factors of forces of demand and supply and FX rate,” he told newsmen.

Nigerians currently buy petrol for between N940 and N975 per litre in Abuja.