Brace for big fuel price hikes in April

IN RECENT weeks, there’s been hype and paranoia surrounding the prospect of petrol prices rising to levels of up to R40 a litre.

While this might happen at some point, given that Russia and Ukraine remain at war, R40 petrol doesn’t seem to be on the cards in the near future.

After reaching a 14-year high of $140 (about R2 000) a barrel earlier this month, the international price of Brent Crude oil had softened to around $106 by mid-month. However, this is higher than last month’s average of $97, which means that motorists and commuters are facing substantial price hikes next month.

The latest mid-month data supplied by the Central Energy Fund, which is an average for the month, points to an increase of around R2.26 for petrol and R3.11 for diesel. However, the latest daily data was showing smaller under-recoveries. If the trends persist then the increase could fall below the R2 mark. Even if the more favourable conditions persist and the hike is limited to R1.80, South Africans will end up paying R22.68 at the coast and R23.40 in Gauteng. |