The AA said in the middle of February that recent reductions in the fuel price were dealt a blow by a steady increase in international petroleum prices during the first half of February.
“Oil traded within a very tight band for most of January, but we have seen a steady uptick since February began,” the AA said at the time. “This trend has accelerated in the last week in particular.”
At the same time, the rand, while currently offsetting some of oil’s gains, has been on a weakening trend against the US dollar since the start of February.
The situation has worsened since then. The energy department now says data points towards a possible increase of 67 for petrol, but it could be as high as 83 cents a litre.
For diesel, it could be even higher, with an increase of between 84 cents and 96 cents on the cards depending on how the rand and oil prices do.
Government in the budget speech announced further taxes on fuel as well as an increase in the general fuel levy and Road Accident Fund contribution, which will add 20 cents per litre to the fuel price from the start of April.
There will probably be little price relief after that, with a carbon tax kicking in in June, adding 9 and 10 cents to petrol and diesel, respectively.
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