Kerosene hits N1,000/l as food prices soar

The average retail price of Household Kerosene (HHK) paid by consumers in October was N1,041.05 per litre, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), yesterday.

The NBS stated in its ‘National Household Kerosene Price Watch’ for October 2022 that the average price was a 9.90 per cent increase over the N947.30 per litre recorded in September 2022.

“On a year-on-year basis, the average retail price per litre of the product increased by 145.87 per cent from N423.42 recorded in October 2021.”

The highest average price per litre of kerosene in

October 2022 was recorded in Cross River at N1,304.17, followed by Enugu at N1,300 and Lagos at N1,294.44.

The lowest price was recorded in Borno at N783.33, then Rivers at N804.17 and Bayelsa at N805.67.

The South-East recorded the highest average retail price per litre of Kerosene at N1,191.14, followed by the South-West at N1,142.60. North-East has the lowest at N905.18/l.

Meanwhile, prices of selected food items increased in October, according to the NBS Selected Food Prices Watch Report for October.

The report said that the average price of a 1kg onion bulb on a year-on-year basis, increased from N306.07 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N405.72 in Oct. 2022.

The report also showed that the average price of 1kg rice (local, sold loose) increased from N415.03 recorded in Oct. 2021 to N487.47 in Oct. 2022.

The NBS said the average price of 1kg of tomato increased from N347.47 to N454.46 while the average price of 1kg brown beans rose from N478.76 in Oct. 2021 to N564.69 in Oct. 2022, among other increases. (NAN)