Fuel price reaches record high

As of 5 March, motorists will pay more than R14 per litre for fuel – a record high for the price of fuel in South Africa.

Petrol will increases by 36 cents per litre, while diesel will rise by between 27 and 28 cents per litre and 58 cents per kilogram for LPGas.

Motorists in Gauteng will pay R14.32 per litre for 95 grade petrol, while motorists at the coast will pay R13.95 per litre.

According to the Department of Energy, which announced the increase on 28 February, a weaker rand/dollar exchange rate had contributed to the increase.

“The average rand/US dollar exchange rate depreciated from R10.67/USD to R11.02/USD during the current fuel price review period and contributed to the fuel price increase by about 17 cents a litre,” the department said in a statement.

Meanwhile, on social media, consumers expressed no urgency to fill up their tanks before fuel prices reach the highest they’ve been in the country’s history.

@ArcadiaT tweeted: “petrol shooting up midnight… not sure wat [sic] science are we trying to challenge when we decide we going to fill up today #petrol.”

Meanwhile, others acknowledged the impact that repeated fuel hikes is having on using private transport.

“The use of alternative energy or means of transport is increasingly becoming urgent, as increases in of price of #Petrol become a norm!” @MkhulekoHlengwa tweeted.

@Smdeez tweeted: “Sooner or later it would be cheaper to use public transport than drive your car #Petrol.”