In July, it will cost you close to R100 more to fill your car’s tank.
The petrol price is likely to rise by R1.73 per liter on Wednesday and diesel by 0.05% sulfur by R1.74.
That’s the under-recovery of prices at the end of the review period for July’s fuel prices. It will only be different from the final increase if the Department of Energy decides to impose a balance levy for the state oil fund (the so-called Slate levy) due to successive sharp increases in fuel prices.
This will be the second consecutive month in which fuel prices become more expensive after petrol increased to R1.18 per liter in June and diesel by 21c or 22c, depending on sulfur content.
Final fuel prices can be issued at any moment before taking effect on Wednesday, July 1.
The full sub-recoveries – thus expected increases – for July’s fuel prices are as follows:
- 95-octane gasoline: R1.73 per liter
- 93-octane gasoline: R1,64 per liter
- Diesel (0.05% sulfur): R1.74 per liter
- Diesel (0.005% sulfur): R1.69 per liter
- Paraffin: R2.15 per liter
The increases for diesel are on the wholesale price as the retail price of diesel is not regulated.
There is a diesel shortage in the interior, especially as summer grain farmers start to harvest.
Over the past month, the slightly stronger rand has pushed prices up another 34c / liter. On June 9, the currency closed at its best level in three months, R16.53, against the dollar.
On the other hand, oil prices have been steadily rising since April, partly driven by the rising fuel demand thanks to the reopening of global economies as they cross the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic.
The Automobile Association (AA) says the recovery of oil prices was just as remarkable as the sharp fall earlier this year. The basic price for petrol and diesel in South Africa (before profit margins, levies, storage and transport costs) increased from about R3 per liter on 1 May to R6 per liter by 25 June.
The AA says that if the rand were still at levels before South Africa’s downgrade on March 27, gasoline would have become cheaper, despite the rise in oil prices.
