The decision by Iran to reclose the Strait of Hormuz has dampened hopes that fuel prices would crash in Nigeria.
The Strait of Hormuz was opened on Friday following a ceasefire deal between Iran and the United States. But barely 24 hours later, Iran reclosed the strait, calling the decision a response to a continued blockade of its ports by the United States.
The Iranian military on Saturday said control of the strategic waterway, through which 20 per cent of globally traded oil transits, had “returned to its previous state”, with reports saying Iranian gunboats fired at a merchant vessel as it attempted to cross.
Fuel marketers had earlier projected that petrol prices could drop from the current N1,250 to about N900 when the strait was opened on Friday.
The spokesman of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Joseph Obele, said on Friday that the prices of crude oil had crashed following the reopening of the strait.
Obele recalled that petrol was around N800 before February 28, when the crisis started, expressing optimism that a sharp reduction should be expected if the development had been sustained.