Some inland areas in South Africa have been suffering fuel shortages recently and the problem is unlikely to end soon.
Some inland areas in South Africa have been suffering fuel shortages recently and the problem is unlikely to end soon. Refined fuel has been pumped to the Gauteng area in two separate pipelines since the fire at the Natref refinery in June.
Fuel is also transported from KwaZulu-Natal, but veld fires and snow in this area have blocked trains and caused electricity problems in Durban, which has affected the oil refineries.
The director of the SA fuel dealers’ association, Hennie Kriel, told Business Day that the fuel crisis could get worse, especially as demand increases ahead of the 13c petrol price increase next Wednesday.
“We have been told by the oil companies that motorists will continue to encounter sporadic shortages and the situation might even get worse,” Kriel said.
“The big depots in Gauteng have been running out of different products at different times and some of my members have encountered recent problems in getting supplies of unleaded fuel.”
But as motorists worry about the petrol price hike just around the corner, analysts have said that car prices are unlikely to increase by much in the third quarter. It is expected that prices will go up by only one to 2,5 per cent from October. This is much lower than had been expected considering the rand’s depreciation and the effects of the terrorist attacks in the United States this month.
Toyota SA will probably lift prices by about 1,5 per cent for locally manufactured models and two per cent for imports from October 1.
Mercedes-Benz’s prices will increase by two per cent, while Volkswagen and Audi are expected to up its prices between two and 2,5 per cent.
