Several filling stations across Nigeria have increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), with motorists now paying as much as N1,220 per litre in parts of Abuja and surrounding areas.
A market survey showed that AA Rano, Ranoil and a number of independent marketers adjusted their petrol prices from between N1,170 and N1,180 per litre to N1,220 per litre, reflecting an increase of N40 to N50 per litre.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and some other retail outlets have maintained their existing prices, which range from N1,155 to N1,205 per litre.
The latest hike follows a significant increase in ex-depot petrol prices, which climbed to between N1,125 and N1,175 per litre, compared with about N1,090 per litre previously.
The development comes shortly after Dangote Refinery resumed selling refined petroleum products in **US dollars rather than naira, setting its petrol price at $0.799 per litre, equivalent to about **N1,075 per litre at the prevailing exchange rate.
Earlier, the refinery dismissed reports alleging it had suspended gantry sales of petrol to marketers, describing the claims as false.
In the global oil market, benchmark crude prices recorded a slight decline on Thursday, with Brent crude trading around $84 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at approximately $78 per barrel, both down by about one per cent.
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