Nigeria for the month of January, produced 66.49 million BO and condensate signifying an average production of 2.14 million bpd according to FSDH Merchant Bank Limited’s monthly economic report.

This signifies a rise of approximately 2.97%, compared to December 2015.

During the January output level, Joint Ventures accounted for approximately 29.89%, Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) about 42.84% while other production deals contributed 27.27%.

Data from Thomson Reuters revealed that the price of Bonny Light oil rose by 4.75% to $38.37 per barrel as at March ending, while the average price of Bonny Light was $38.91 per barrel in March 2016, a rise of 17.80% from the average price of $33.03 per barrel accounted in February 2016,

“This will be the third consecutive monthly increase this year. The month of March was unique as the fuel scarcity intensified and higher transport costs filtered through to commodity prices such as beans, tomato and pepper. While our initial time series analysis projected an increase of 0.4 per cent, the severity and longevity of the prevailing fuel scarcity has distorted price levels. Our retail study showed that prices of many consumer goods have remained stubbornly high and in some cases increased in spite of consumer resistance,” the Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) stated.

It added that the contradiction between urban and rural prices will likely continue given the effect of the increase in transport costs and exchange rate pressures on urban prices. The price of diesel has risen to N130 per litre.

“As the exchange rate uncertainty continues, consumer prices are expected to remain high. In addition, with fuel scarcity expected to persist till next month in spite of NNPC’s April 7 deadline, transportation costs will continue to be elevated. Therefore, we expect inflation to still remain in the region above 11 per cent,” it added.

Anita Fatunji