Petrol price hike
JOBURG – Motorists have been enjoying massive fuel price drops since August last year but this is set to change.
The petrol price is expected to go up on 4 March.
The Energy Department has announced the price of petrol will go up by 96 cents a litre while diesel will cost 74 cents more, paraffin goes up by 73cents and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by R1.54.
This will be the first increase in the fuel price after it hit record lows last year.
“The main reason for the fuel price increases is the average increase in the price of crude oil (by about 20 per cent) during the period under review compared to the previous period,” the department said in a statement.
The other reason is the depreciation of the rand against the US dollar.
“There are various factors to consider when looking at the drop or rise of petrol, one of which is the decrease or increase in the oil price in the global market,” said Peter Baur, senior lecturer at the Department of Economics and Econometrics at the University of Johannesburg.
South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted on a monthly basis, informed by international and local factors.
“The Department of Energy believes that the price of crude oil will stabilise around the current level and as such no major price shocks are expected in the future,” the department said in the statement.
However, according to the statement, the slate levy on petrol and diesel remain unchanged at zero cents per litre, due to positive cumulative` over-recoveries on these products.
Petrol price last increased by 7 cents per litre in April last year and 36 cents per litre in March of the same year.
The price had dropped by R4 a litre less since August last year.
