Chamber of Petroleum Consumers is asking Ghanaians to expect a significant increase in fuel prices in the coming days.
The Chamber made up of the Association of Ghana Industries, the Transport operators and other groupings said the growing tension between Iran and the US will cause fuel prices to go up.
COPEC said fuel prices in Ghana could double should the geopolitical tension between the US and Iran continues even for few more days.
They have advised the Government to begin buying and storing crude from the international market to minimize the shocks that will be unleashed.
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Executive Director of COPEC Duncan Amoah speaking to Joy FM said within the few days fuel prices globally has gone up by 3%.
"If you look at the way the tensions are escalating, Iran has indicated they are willing to target 300 different sites of the United States, the US is also saying 52 sites of Iran will go up, you don't know when any of them will make the first step and you definitely can imagine what the implications will be on fuel prices, just the killing of Suleimani has seen fuel prices go up by some 3% globally, .....that the tensions will not deescalate anytime soon fuel prices may get to a point where it may become double what it is today, Ghana should not sit and be caught ball watching..."
Oil prices climb above $70 a barrelÂ
The Guardian is reporting that Oil prices have climbed above $70 a barrel for the first time in four months amid fears that the US air strike that killed Iran’s top military commander may trigger a retaliation.
According to their report, the global oil markets have risen by more than 5% to $70.73 a barrel since the attack that killed Qassem Suleimani in Iraq last week.
The attack has sent shockwaves through global markets, causing equity indices in Asia, the US and Europe to slump while the benchmark price of Brent crude climbed to its highest level since September.
Iran has vowed to take revenge against the US for the assassination of Suleimani, who was one of the most powerful leaders in Iran, and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.
The oil price continued to climb after Friday’s surge when the US warned over the weekend that Iran might retaliate by targeting oil facilities in the Middle East, which could disrupt global oil supplies and drive prices higher.
A prolonged oil price surge could raise the risk of a global economic recession and would add about 2p a litre to the price of petrol at the pumps.