(Ecofin Agency) - The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has announced that the Federal Government will reduce the pump price of Petrol to N85 per litre from January 1, 2016.

Emmanuel Kachikwu who also doubles as the Group Managing Director of NNPC, disclosed this on Friday at the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC), where he was examining the plant. He stated that he sanctioned the new price for the agency on Thursday.

“Like I said, we have done a modulation calculation and it is showing us below N87.I imagine that if PPPRA publishes it today, it will become effective immediately. But the 1st of January that is when we are looking at”, Kachikwu said.

Petrol officially sells for N87 per litre, though in other states it sells for higher prices in the country.

According to Kachikwu, the new price is lesser than the existing N87 per litre thereby serving as a proof that the pricing modulation that the Government vowed to undertake some days ago was not false. He added that after much study and research, the Federal government finally understood that the country can alter fuel price based on crude oil market fundamentals, Premium Times reports.