Fuel prices are on their way up again from 2 August, the Automobile Association said last week.
The association said unaudited month-end fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) confirms the mid-month picture.
The retail price of petrol dropped by 69 cents for a litre early July, but the August increase is mainly driven by the weaker rand to US dollar exchange rate, the AA explained.
“The rand accounted for about two-thirds of the hike, with a slight uptick in international fuel prices contributing to the remainder.”
We expect petrol to increase by around 20 cents a litre, but diesel is predicted to go up by nearly 31 cents, with illuminating paraffin showing a 27 cents hike.
“While the rand continues its volatile trend, international fuel prices have surged strongly in the past 10 days. If this upwards movement continues in August, fuel users can expect further bad news,” the AA said.
It may not be such good news that the fuel price is going up, but these fuel saving facts might brighten your day:
- Technologies such as direct injection, turbo charging, low rolling resistant tyres and multiple ratio transmissions are making larger vehicles just as economical as their smaller counterparts.
- Thanks to technological advances, modern automatic transmissions are just as fuel efficient as automatic transmissions.
- There is no significant difference in fuel usage when you start and when you idle your car. It all depends on how long you let it idle.
- Letting a vehicle warm up is not always best for fuel consumption. Today’s vehicles have fuel injectors designed to operate optimally as soon as the vehicle is started. It’s better to let the vehicle warm up while you drive.
- If you have a computerised fuel injection system, shifting to neutral at intersections does not really save fuel.
Source: The Automobile Association
Related articles:
