No sign of fuel price relief ahead

SOUTH Africa’s fuel price nightmare continues unabated, following Wednesday’s hefty fuel price hikes that saw both grades of petrol rise by R1.46 per litre from Wednesday and diesel by between R1.44 and R1.48.

To make matters worse, there is no sign of relief ahead as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is threatening to send international oil prices spiralling further.

The R1.46 petrol hike for March has pushed the price of a litre of 95 Unleaded up to R20.88 at the coast and R21.60 inland, and the 93 Unleaded will now retail for R21.35.

This adds up to a significant price premium when filling your tank. For instance, refuelling a hatchback like a Kia Picanto, assuming you’ll be putting 30 litres of petrol into its 35 litre tank, will now cost you R640.50 – an increase of R43.80. Putting 35 litres in a Volkswagen Polo will cost you R51.10 extra (R747.00 in total), while a Tiguan’s 53 litre refuel will set you back a further R77.38 (R1 188).

But the worst hit will be drivers of large SUVs and bakkies with 80 litre tanks, and here a 75 litre diesel refuel will cost R111 more than it did in February. The cost of a tank, however, will vary between the different fuel stations as diesel is deregulated.

The Automobile Association says the price increases will have a severe and immediate effect, while long-term inflation is also an inevitable result. Illuminating paraffin is set to increase by R1.21 per litre next month.

But will the Russia-Ukraine conflict lead to even higher prices in April and May? “For now, it’s a question of wait and see how these prices move in the next few weeks,” the AA said.

“One silver lining, though, is that any potential increases will not be combined with increases to fuel taxes as the minister of Finance announced the General Fuel and Road Accident Fund levies will not increase this year.”

|