Johannesburg – While petrol is still alarmingly expensive in South Africa, the past few months have seen some welcome decreases, but sadly that downward cycle is coming to an end.
According to the latest unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund, as released on October 25, the prices of petrol and diesel are set to go up in November, with the latter suffering a far bigger increase.
We won’t know the final numbers until early next week, and factors in the next few days could still change the outlook. However, our prediction, based on the available data, is for petrol price hikes of 60c to 70c, while diesel is looking set to go up by R1.50 to R1.60.
95 Unleaded petrol currently costs R21.71 per litre at the coast and R22.36 inland, following October’s decrease of R1.02 per litre, while 93 Unleaded currently retails at R22.06.
The Automobile Association is particularly concerned about the diesel price hikes, as increased transport costs for food and manufactured goods will be passed on to consumers.
The impending fuel price increases are mostly a result of higher international oil prices, although the weaker rand is also an aggravating factor.
The local currency has depreciated from around R17.90 at the beginning of the month to R18.46 on October 25.
Oil prices shot up earlier this month after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) agreed on its biggest production cut since the pandemic. Brent Crude has been trading at $93 to $94 since the announcement, up from an average of $85 in September.
Stay tuned for the official petrol price update early next week.
Want to improve your fuel consumption? Click here for some handy fuel saving tips.