Petrol is expected to breach the R23 per litre mark for the first time this year in a significant increase while the price of diesel is expected to decrease slightly. Here is what consumers can expect for the month of May. 
Adding to already embattled consumers dealing with record-high in food inflation in the first quarter of 2023, there will be no reprieve with the cost of petrol as it is provisionally expected to breach the R23 per litre mark for the first time this year.
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Unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) is indicating ULP95 to climb around 52 cents per litre and ULP93 by around 56 cents per litre. Diesel on the other hand is expected to decrease between 31 cents per litre and 57 cents per litre.
“The decrease to diesel and paraffin prices is certainly good news, especially as the country enters colder months. But the increases to the petrol prices will add more strain to already stretched budgets, and consumers are advised to revise their budgets accordingly. There is no doubt these are difficult times, and petrol price increases will come as bad news for many who will have to dig even deeper in their pockets to keep mobile,” says the AA.
“The surge in international oil prices is the main driver contributing to the under recovery in petrol while the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate during April is actually providing some relief, without which the increases could have been higher,” says the AA.
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“The silver lining, though, are the expected diesel price reductions. Diesel is a big input cost in major sectors such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing and an increase here often contributes to increased prices of basic commodities. The current increase in the consumer price index (cpi) to 7.1% in March and food inflation hitting a 14-year high of 14.4%, plus an increase in diesel prices would have resulted in very unfavourable conditions for consumers,” the AA concludes.
Officially adjusted fuel prices come into effect on 3 May.
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