Ghana is set to see a reduction in petroleum prices at the pump beginning Friday, May 16, 2025, driven by a strengthening cedi and falling global prices for refined oil products, according to the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC).
The local currency’s recent rally, bolstered by rising investor confidence, improved market liquidity, and easing inflation, has helped ease import cost pressures for fuel marketers, who rely heavily on foreign exchange for pricing.
“One of the biggest components in the price derivation of crude oil product prices in Ghana has to do with the forex,” COMAC Chief Executive Dr. Riverson Oppong told Joy Business. “As we speak now, the benchmark prices are falling as well, and the U.S. [dollar] is falling. That’s why you’ve seen petroleum product prices coming down. All the way from 15% to 13% today, on average.”
Fuel price adjustments are among the most immediate ways Ghanaian consumers feel the effects of macroeconomic shifts. The expected cut comes as the cedi gained 6.25% against the U.S. dollar last week in the retail market, making it the best-performing currency among a basket of 15 Sub-Saharan African peers. The currency has appreciated 16.29% year-to-date, closing at a mid-rate of GH¢13.60 per dollar. It also posted strong gains against the pound and euro, up 7.61% and 5.81% respectively.
“Indeed, we expect this to continue,” Oppong added. “As far as these two components play their roles, plummeting down or taking a nosedive, I believe that ordinary Ghanaians or you and I will need to benefit from it in all angles.”
Ghana’s foreign exchange market remained liquid last week, with an aggregate supply of US$378.6 million, supporting the cedi’s advance. The currency traded at GH¢12.89 to the dollar on the interbank market.
Contributing to the improved sentiment is a recent upgrade by S&P Global Ratings, which raised Ghana’s foreign currency sovereign credit rating to ‘CCC+/C’ from ‘Selective Default’. The agency cited stronger growth, continued fiscal reforms, and improvements in the country’s external position as key drivers. The rating outlook was maintained as stable, both for foreign and local currency obligations.
Analysts see the credit upgrade and strengthening cedi as key signals of macroeconomic stabilization, crucial for Ghana’s post-crisis recovery and for providing some cost-of-living relief through reduced fuel prices. However, they also caution that sustained gains will depend on external conditions, including global oil prices and continued fiscal discipline.
