Petrol set to drop in January as forecasted diesel hike looms

The Automobile Association (AA) has painted yet another mixed fuel price picture for January, albeit with the pendulum swinging in the favour of petrol vehicle owners.

Commenting on unaudited data released by the Central Energy Fund on Tuesday (17 December), the AA said the stability of the Rand compared to the US Dollar throughout the first half of the month, and the currency even appreciating against the greenback, points to a 17 cents a litre decrease in the price of petrol with illuminating paraffin set to drop by four cents. In a reversal of this month however, diesel is forecasted to enter 2020 one cent a litre dearer.

“The Rand has held steady during the first half of December, even appreciating slightly against the US dollar. This has contributed approximately nine cents in price relief. Meanwhile, the landed price of fuels has been mixed, with petrol down slightly, while diesel is up,” the AA said in a statement.

“Although there has been a slight upward oil price trend that has manifested over the past few days, it is too early to tell whether this will persist. Barring any unforeseen surprises, we expect 2020 will kick off with only modest fuel price changes”.

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