The latest price projections for Pretoria motorists for September 2024 show that good news lies ahead for petrol and diesel vehicle owners.
The CEF’s latest data shows a 73 to 78 cents per litre over-recovery for petrol and a 62 to 88 cents per litre over-recovery for diesel.
These are the expected changes:
- Petrol 93: decrease of 73 cents per litre
- Petrol 95: decrease of 78 cents per litre
- Diesel 0.05% (wholesale): decrease of 62 cents per litre
- Diesel 0.005% (wholesale): decrease of 88 cents per litre
- Illuminating paraffin: decrease of 88 cents per litre
The over-recovery in August prices is attributed to a stronger rand and lower global oil prices, with the current trend showing a further improvement of about 10 cents per litre since mid-month.
Following petrol price increases of R3.00 per litre from January to May 2024, a projected 75-cent per litre cut in September will bring the total reduction since June to R3.23, resulting in a net decrease of around 23 cents per litre for the year.
This drop in fuel prices has already positively impacted the national economy, with headline inflation improving to 4.6% in July, better than expected. Fuel inflation also decreased for the second consecutive month, from 4.6% in June to 3.6% in July.
Here are five ways to ensure that you save fuel:
- Keep tyres pumped up: Tyres that are underinflated have a higher rolling resistance on the road. This means that with every kilometer travelled, your tyres generate more friction and rolling resistance, and hence, will increase fuel consumption.
- Drive with AC: Driving with the windows down at speeds faster than 80km/h causes a lot of wind resistance and uses a lot more fuel. Contrary to what you may think, in this situation, it’s simply more fuel-efficient to drive with the aircon on.
- Don’t go too fast or too slow: When cruising down a highway, your engine works hard to overcome wind resistance. You’ll burn up to 15% more fuel at 100km/h and 25% more at 110km/h. That might tempt you to drive slow, but if you drive slower than 50km/h, your engine will drop to a lower gear, thus using up more fuel. In conclusion, a steady 50 – 90km/h on the highway is best to achieve optimal fuel economy.
- Plan your rush hour route: Stop-start traffic puts a lot of pressure on your engine, thus burning more fuel. When possible, plan your commute to and from work carefully to help you avoid the worst of peak traffic.
- Don’t stay idle for long: If you are waiting for something or someone for more than three minutes, turn off your engine. You may not be moving but as long as your engine is on, it’s burning precious fuel.
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