Motorists will experience some much-needed relief at the petrol pumps.
Both grades of petrol will decrease by 99 cents per litre while the price of diesel will decrease between 73 and 74 cents on 3 August.
The Automobile Association (AA) already predicted the big price drop while commenting on unaudited month-end fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund (CEF).
“The rand has continued its recent march against the US dollar, with an almost uninterrupted two-month streak of gains,” the AA said.
“The local currency was pegged at R15.70 to the dollar at the end of May, but is now sitting around the R14.20 mark.”
Although the rand’s performance has been impressive lately, it has only contributed about 25 cents to the expected fuel price drop in August. The balance has been due to the continued retreat of international petroleum prices in the wake of the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union.
“The landed price of fuel has dropped by almost 20 percent from its June 22 level,” the association said.
“When taken in the context of the prevailing economic conditions, this windfall will come as a welcome breather to both private motorists and the transport industry.”
Regarding the current petroleum workers’ strike, the South African Petroleum Industries Association (Sapia) indicated that fuel was in supply and that it had contingency plans in place for the strike.
Via Twitter, Sapia stated, “Motorists are advised to stick to their normal refueling patterns to assist the petroleum industry in ensuring security of supply.”
