Good and bad news for motorists as petrol price to rise and diesel to drop

The Automobile Association (AA) has announced good and bad news for South Africans this festive season, with motorists likely to see a significant decrease in the price of diesel, but an increase in the price of petrol.

Fuel price

Commenting on the final unaudited data report by the Central Energy Fund on Wednesday, the AA said it expects diesel to go down by R1.55 per litre, while petrol will rise by 23 cents for 93 unleaded and by 33 cents for 95 unleaded.

The price of illuminating paraffin meanwhile will drop by 49 cents per litre come next week Wednesday, 7 December.

Mixed picture

“The movement of international product prices is adding between 60c and 71c a litre to the rising costs. But the stronger showing of the rand against the US dollar, especially in the second half of November, is softening those increases by around 37c/l,” the AA said in a statement.

ALSO READ: MasterDrive: Now is the time to get plugged-in on EVs

“The decrease to diesel and paraffin prices is encouraging. Diesel is a major input cost in many sectors and the decrease to this fuel cost is positive for all consumers.

“While positive, the suggested retail price of diesel in December will still be around R6.20/l more expensive than it was in January, which will have resulted in higher prices to goods and services during 2022.”

Could have gone the other way

Despite the increase in 93 and 95 octane petrol, the AA stated that matters could have gone the other way drastically had the rand lost further ground to the dollar.

“The rand’s positive movement is certainly aiding consumers without which the outlook may have been gloomier,” the AA said, adding that initial data pointed to diesel dropping by 34 cents and petrol increasing by between 97 cents and R1.09 per litre.

It, however, stated “going forward, though, we will continue to call for a re-evaluation of the fuel pricing structure to provide more longer lasting solutions to mitigate against rising fuel costs.

“A review of the fuel price must examine all the components that comprise a litre of fuel, establish their continued relevance as part of the fuel price, and determine if the calculations used are still correct.”

ALSO READ: Interest rate hike: Here’s how much more you’ll pay for your car every month