Petrol and diesel price hikes higher than expected
AFTER last month’s brutal fuel price increases, petrol and diesel are due for more steep increases this month, the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources (DMRE) has announced.
According to the department’s official statement, petrol will increase by between R1.08 (for 93 Unleaded) and R1.14 (95 Unleaded) from today, while diesel prices will increase by between R1.93 (low-sulphur 50ppm) and R1.96 (500ppm).
A litre of 95 Unleaded will set you back R24.96 at the coast and R25.68 inland, while 93 Unleaded will increase to R25.22. The even steeper diesel increases will see the wholesale price of 50ppm increasing to R24.51 at the coast and R25.22 inland, while 500ppm will cost R24.29 and R25.01, respectively. This excludes the retail margin, which is usually around R2, depending on the outlet, as diesel is unregulated.
The price adjustments will add insult to injury for South African motorists, after last month’s increases of R1.71 for petrol and up to R2.84 for diesel.
As with these previous increases, this month’s prices were primarily driven by stronger international oil prices, with Brent crude having breached the $90 mark last month for the first time in almost a year.
The increases are higher than predicted. Earlier indications pointed to increases of just more than 80 cents for petrol and R1.65 for diesel. However, the DMRE said a Slate Levy of about 30 cents had been implemented. This self-adjusting pricing scale compensates for daily oil price fluctuations during the preceding month.
The latest increases also bring petrol prices dangerously close to the all-time highs of July last year, when a litre of 95 Unleaded cost R26.74 inland.
The Automobile Association said it was concerned that South Africa’s government had not announced any measures to deal with fuel prices more effectively.
This latest round of increases would hit consumers hard at a time when they were already feeling extreme financial pressure, the association said.