VenturesNow

Nigeria’s NNPC insists no plans to raise petrol prices

Published

11 months ago

February 9, 2024

Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), announced on Thursday that it had no intention of increasing petrol prices.

This comes amid speculation that it could increase prices to recover some of its import costs given the devaluation of the Naira and the cost of purchasing and importing refined petrol.

The NNPC, which is the sole importer of petrol because local private firms are unable to obtain sufficient foreign currency, urged Nigerians to disregard the speculation about price increases, adding that “there are no plans for an upward review of the (petrol) price.”

Since President Bola Tinubu ended the expensive fuel subsidy and loosened limits on currency trading in July of last year, which caused petrol prices to more than quadruple, Nigerians have been feeling the impact.

The measures exacerbated the cost of living crisis by driving inflation to a nearly three-decade high in December, contrary to the president’s hopes that this would jump-start the economy’s flagging growth.

Unions have put pressure on Tinubu to provide assistance to small firms and households after he removed the subsidy that kept petrol prices low but came at a $10 billion cost to the government in 2022.

The president has insisted he is aware of the difficulties brought about by the removal of the subsidy and was keeping an eye on how inflation and the exchange rate were affecting the price of petrol. He also promised to step in if and when needed.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s major unions expressed disappointment over the government’s inability to keep promises made to mitigate the effects of reforms and issued a two-week ultimatum to the government to comply with requests ranging from increased wages to better access to public utilities.

VenturesNow

IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

VenturesNow

Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

10 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.