Petrol up 67c a litre, diesel hike of 44c

THE price of all grades of petrol will increase by 67c a litre with effect from tomorrow.

The price of diesel, both 0.05 percent sulphur and 0.005 percent sulphur, will increase by 44c a litre, the Energy department said.

The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin would increase by 49c a litre, and the single maximum national retail price (SMNRP) by 65c a litre. The maximum LPG retail price would increase by 86c/kg.

The department said the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments were that the rand depreciated, on average, against the US dollar during the period under review, and that the international prices of petroleum products increased on average at the same time.

Economist Kevin Lings said the latest announcement meant 95 Octane (ULP, Gauteng) would now cost R13.72 a litre.

He said: “The petrol price rise in September 2017 will increase the monthly consumer inflation rate by a substantial 0.3 percentage points (based on the new CPI weights).

“This outcome is obviously negative for the inflation forecast, and could start to negatively impact the current very favourable outlook for South Africa’s inflation and interest rates, especially if the oil price were to move noticeably higher.

“At this stage, we still expect South Africa’s inflation to remain inside the target range through to the end of 2018, which should allow the Reserve Bank to cut rates once or twice (by 25bps each) over the next six months.”

Motorist Zubeidah Vania said she was not happy about the increase, as she was from Joburg and travelled constantly to Cape Town. “It’s going to have a huge impact on my budget and the cost of petrol for me… I’m also a driver for Taxify, which means my income is going to be slightly less, as I’m going to be spending more on petrol.”

Motorcyclist Donald Hutchinson said: “My food and everything is going to suffer, because I need to get to work, and if I don’t get to work I don’t get paid. So, I’m back in a Catch-22 situation.”