Oil prices dip slightly, but Ghana remains vulnerable amid ongoing Israel-Iran tensions.
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- Oil prices dip slightly, but Ghana remains vulnerable amid ongoing Israel-Iran tensions.
Oil prices dip slightly, but Ghana remains vulnerable amid ongoing Israel-Iran tensions.
Crude oil prices dipped to $73 per barrel after spiking 7% to $74 last Friday, triggered by Israel’s airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program. Fears of a wider Middle East conflict initially drove the surge, but markets have since calmed, with the cedi recovering slightly from GH¢10.35 to GH¢10.30 per dollar and gold prices falling from $3,432 to $3,395 by Monday. Tehran’s retaliatory drone strikes have not escalated into broader conflict, easing concerns about regional oil producers like Saudi Arabia.
Despite this, oil tankers are imposing higher risk premiums for Middle East shipments, keeping prices elevated until tensions clearly subside. OPEC+ production remains high, with some members exceeding quotas, while soft global oil demand in 2025 helps cap price increases.
Ghana narrowly avoided added pressure from the timely suspension of a proposed GH¢1 per litre fuel levy. However, the episode highlights Ghana’s vulnerability to global oil market volatility, which could raise transport costs, food prices, and imported inflation, further straining the cedi.
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Very good write up. Keep it up. Since 2010, when Ghana first discovered oil, the narrative has not moved away from merely extraction to expanding refinery capacities for the downstream sector to reduce reliance on imports. Without making the conscious effort to change the status quo, existing vulnerabilities and susceptibilities to geopolitical tensions and risks will continue for a very long time.