In December 2023, consumers across Nigeria felt the pinch as the cost of kerosene soared to N1,362.27 per litre, marking a noticeable 5.84% jump from the previous month’s N1,287.10, according to a recent report from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
As learned by Quest Times, the year-on-year analysis revealed a substantial 23.33% increase, climbing from N1,104.61 in December 2022; a closer look at state-level data exposed varying prices nationwide.
“Abuja led the pack with the highest average price per litre at N1,650.00, closely trailed by Ogun at N1,609.52 and Benue at N1,594.44,” NBS noted.
In contrast, Kwara reported the lowest price at N917.14, followed by Rivers at N969.70 and Nassarawa at N1,071.43.
Zooming out to geographical zones, the southwest experienced the highest average retail price per liter at N1,455.21, with the northwest following closely at N1,420.48, while the southeast recorded the lowest at N1,264.49.
Looking at per-gallon prices, consumers paid an average of N4,529.92 for household kerosene in December 2023, reflecting a slight decline of 1.17% from November’s N4,583.44.
However, on a year-on-year basis, this indicated a significant increase of 20.69% from December 2022’s N3,753.38.
Breaking down per-gallon prices by state, Bauchi led the list at N5,600.00, followed by Lagos at N5,273.53 and Ekiti at N5,234.38.
Delta recorded the lowest price at N3,234.29, followed by Bayelsa and Kaduna with N3,538.03 and N3,560.00, respectively.
Analyzing the zones, the North-East led with the highest average retail price per gallon of Household Kerosene at N5,077.08, closely followed by the South West at N5,014.48.
In contrast, the South-South recorded the lowest average price per gallon at N3,957.17, painting a challenging pricing landscape for consumers in the final month of 2023, as highlighted by the NBS.