The cost of energy supply has continued to take a depressing toll on Nigerians with the average retail price of Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) paid by consumers in 12 months soaring by 182.64 per cent.
The latest National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report showed that the cost of a litre of the fuel rose from N289.37 in December 2021 to N817.86 per litre for the same period in 2022.
But on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the NBS report covering last month, showed that the price of diesel increased by 1.11 per cent from N808.87 per litre reported in November 2022.
Furthermore, analysis by zone showed that the South-west had the highest price with N841.35, while the South-south recorded the lowest price with N798.54.
The NBS also said that the average retail price for refilling a 5kg Cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas increased on a year-on-year (YoY) basis by 27.00 per cent from N3,594.81 in December 2021.
In addition, analysis by zone showed that the North-central recorded the highest average retail price for refilling volume of gas with N4,841.07, followed by the North-east with N4,593.99, while the South-east recorded the lowest with N4,386.39.
Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of gas increased by 0.67 per cent on a MOM basis from N10,180.88 in November 2022 to N10,248.97 in December 2022.
The NBS report also showed that Benue recorded the highest average retail price for the refilling of a 12.5kg cylinder with N11,250.00, followed by Cross River with N10,892.86 and Ebonyi with N10,753.57.
Similarly, the average retail price per litre of kerosene paid by consumers in December 2022 was N1,104.61, indicating an increase of 1.94 per cent compared to N1,083.57 recorded in November 2022.
On state profile analysis, the highest average price per litre in December 2022 was recorded in Abuja with N1,383.33, followed by Akwa Ibom with N1,341.67 and Cross River with N1,300.00.
In addition, analysis by zone showed that the South-east recorded the highest average retail price per litre of household kerosene with N1,203.95, followed by the South-west with N1,177.89, while the North-west recorded the lowest with N1,011.49, “NBS said.