A little bit of help expected at the petrol pumps in September

Motorists are set for a small reprieve at the pumps in September as the economy opens up under lockdown Level 2. That is, if the Rand/Dollar exchange rate plays ball.

Commenting on the first unaudited data report by the Central Energy Fund, the Automobile Association (AA) said it expects the price of petrol to drop by nine cents a litre, diesel by seven cents and illuminating paraffin by 12 cents come 2 September.

“Oil prices have slipped a little, with the landed price of fuels in South Africa showing a slight reduction in the first half of August. Over the past six weeks, oil has traded in a fairly narrow band, indicating that a more reliable plateau has been reached, absent any unexpected shocks,” the association said.

It however warned that the Rand’s dipping from R16.80 to R17.40 versus the US Dollar at the start of August could lead to the small decrease swinging the opposite way, saying that, “this spells trouble for South African fuel users if it continues, but for now, the oil price is the stronger of the two forces. If this picture retains stability in the second half of the month, we expect only modest changes to the fuel price”.

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