The Automobile Association says that South African motorists should prepare for an increase in the price of fuel next month.
The AA said in a statement that higher international fuel prices and a weakening rand/dollar exchange rate had increased the likelihood that motorists would pay more at the pumps at the end of July.
“There was a slight decrease in the international petrol price, but diesel and paraffin are up. Meanwhile, the rand’s slip against the US dollar added around 17 cents a litre to fuel prices across the board,” the Association said.
“As a result, our mid-month prediction is that the petrol price is set to increase by up to seven cents a litre based on the current data, with diesel up 22 cents, and illuminating paraffin 19 cents higher.”
The Association explained that international petroleum product prices had “generally trended towards higher prices during July, while the exchange rate picture trends towards weakness”, adding that a continuation of these trends could cause even higher fuel price hikes by month-end.
“As we have previously noted, the fuel price relief of recent months is unlikely to be sustained, and motorists should be prepared to pay more at month-end,” the AA concluded.
