More petrol price pain in August: Motorists face less mileage for their money

While fuel has gone down over the last two months, current predictions for petrol and diesel prices point to more winter blues at the pumps.

Mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) points to flat fuel prices in August, with a minimal cut for petrol and a small hike for diesel.

Petrol prices have moved from a slight over-recovery of around 15 cents per litre at the start of July to around 8 cents. Diesel, meanwhile, is showing an under-recovery of up to 15 cents per litre.

August fuel price: Expected changes in petrol. diesel and paraffin

• Petrol 93: Decrease of 5 cents per litre
• Petrol 95: Decrease of 8 cents per litre
• Diesel 0.05% (wholesale): Increase of 1 cents per litre
• Diesel 0.005% (wholesale): Increase of 15 cents per litre
• Illuminating paraffin: Increase of 8 cents per litre

Current price per litre

INLAND

• ULP93 : R22.86
• ULP95 : R23.36
• Diesel (0.005%): R20.91
• Diesel (0.05%): R20.66

COAST

• ULP93: R22.07
• ULP95: R22.47
• Diesel (0.005%): R20.15
• Diesel (0.05%): R19.87

Fuel price factors: Rand/dollar, global oil prices

The fuel price is adjusted on the first Wednesday of every month based on the rand/dollar exchange rate and global oil prices.

This includes oil supply and production capacity, which can be influenced by the OPEC cartel of major producers.

The main culprit behind the pressure on fuel prices is the global oil price.

Oil prices have remained consistently higher for the year so far with a 2% rise in Brent Crude Oil futures. This equates to a price of $85.20 per barrel.

Trump assassination attempt

According to BusinessLIVE, the rand slipped to R18.05/dollar on Monday (15 July) following the assassination attempt of Donald Trump over the weekend.

The incident has raised bets that the former US president could emerge victorious from the November elections.

It’s important to note that the market shift triggered by the attempted assassination is not yet reflected in the latest data for August’s petrol and diesel prices.

The Trump rally in the dollar has also put downward pressure on oil, which means that pricing could also ease.

Official fuel price adjustments

The latest data update comes with the caveat that market conditions can swing before the final announcement of the official fuel price at the end of this month.

The unaudited CEF snapshots are not predictive and do not cover other potential changes like slate levy adjustments or retail margin changes.

• The official fuel price adjustments will come into effect on Wednesday, 7 August.

Stay tuned to The Citizen for more fuel price updates towards the end of this month.

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