The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says the average retail price of a litre of petrol has increased from N185.30 in March 2022 to N264.29 in March 2023.
It made the declaration in its Petrol Price Watch for March 2023 released in Abuja on Monday.
It stated that the March 2023 price of N264.29 represented a 42.63 per cent increase over the price of N185.30 recorded in March 2022.
“Comparing the average price value with the previous month of February 2023, the average retail price increased by 0.20 per cent from N263.76.
“On states profiles analysis, Imo paid the highest average retail price of N332.67 per litre, followed by Taraba at N330.00 and Borno at N324.55.
“Conversely, Benue paid the lowest average retail price of N195.00, followed by Plateau at N196.79 and Nasarawa at N197.50, ” it stated.
Analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price in March 2023 at N306.00 per litre, while the North-Central recorded the lowest at N205.10 per litre.
The NBS also stated in its Diesel Price Watch Report for March 2023 that the average retail price paid by consumers increased by 55.90 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
It explained that the retail price moved from a lower cost of N539.32 per litre recorded in March 2022 to a higher cost of N836.81 per litre in March 2023.
“On a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 0.47 per cent from the N836.91 per litre recorded in February 2023 to an average of N840.81 in March 2023 ,’’ it added.
On state profiles analysis, the report said the highest average price of diesel in March 2023 was recorded in Bauchi at N910.46 per litre, followed by Abuja at N889.44 and Adamawa at N880.33 per litre.
On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa at N768.04 per litre, followed by Katsina at N779.78 per litre and Edo at N797.14 per litre.
In addition, the analysis by zone showed that the North East had the highest price at N856.42 per litre, while the South-South Zone recorded the lowest price at N816.92 per litre.