Africa-Press – South-Africa. The petrol price could be hiked in the first week of April, but diesel and illuminating paraffin may become cheaper, the latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows.
Petrol may be increased by around 25c a litre, while the wholesale price of diesel could be lowered by around 20c a litre. Illuminating paraffin could see a cut of around 68c a litre.
Fuel prices, which will be adjusted on 5 April, are largely determined by the oil price, as well as the rand – as oil is priced in dollar.
While the Brent oil price has fallen from above $84 a barrel to $76 so far this month, the rand has taken a knock, falling to almost R18.70/$ last week – its weakest level in more than a year.
But the Automobile Association (AA) notes that the rand appears to be steadying against the dollar, which should bring further relief to petrol prices, specifically. The local currency was last at R18.36/$ by Wednesday lunchtime.
The AA added that this data is based on mid-month prices, so the numbers should change before the official adjustment at the end of the month.
Another consideration is that fuel levies will not be increasing in April and will stay at the same rate as they did in 2022, the organisation said.
In his Budget speech, finance minister Enoch Godongwana kept fuel levies unchanged.
“Although not a saving as such, any increases would have added additional pressure to fuel prices, and we again welcome his decision not to increase these rates for 2023,” the AA said.
Petrol prices were hiked by R1.27 at the start of the month, while diesel increased by between 30c and 32c a litre.
In Gauteng, the price of a litre of 95 unleaded petrol increased to R22.95, while it will increase to R22.30 on the coast. A year ago, 95 petrol retailed for R21.60 in Gauteng.
The Gauteng wholesale diesel price reached R21.62, from R18.87 a year ago.
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