South Africa set for ‘record’ fuel price cuts next week, says AA…

By: CAR magazine

The Automobile Association says South African motorists can expect “record” fuel price cuts in the first week of May 2020.

Commenting on unaudited month-end data released by the Central Energy Fund, the AA said this would result in “back-to-back records for monthly fuel price drops”.

The Association said that against the backdrop of the international oil picture, even the “disastrous performance” of the rand versus the dollar in April “barely moved the needle on local fuel prices”. The local currency’s average value against the dollar plunged from R16,45 on 26 March to R18,45 on 28 April, with daily peaks in excess of R19 to the dollar.

“The rand has been pummelled by COVID-19 and the Moody’s downgrade to junk status, and yet we are still able to predict record-territory fuel price drops. This goes to show just how severely the world oil price has collapsed,” the AA said.

According to the organisation, petrol is set to drop by around R1,74 a litre in May, with diesel falling by R1,56 a litre and illuminating paraffin by R2,18 a litre.

The AA points out these predicted decreases would result in a fall of R3,84 a litre for 93 unleaded petrol inland since January, and R4,00 a litre for 95 petrol over the same period. Diesel users are set to benefit with the predicted price now around R3,49 a litre cheaper than it was five months ago.

The petrol price was last below R13 a litre in July 2017, says the AA. In March 2016, petrol cost R11,74 a litre with the price rising to R12,62 a month later. The figures forecast for May 2020 will bring the price of petrol (and other fuels) to levels last seen five years ago.

“With the massive drop in fuel usage during April revenue from the General Fuel Levy (GFL) – which comprises about 25 percent of every litre of fuel – will also suffer. Considering the annual collection rate of the GFL, government will have lost between R6-billion and R7-billion in revenue through not collecting this tax,” the AA pointed out.

The Association added the sudden drop in fuel purchases would put further pressure on fuel retailers.

“Many fuel retailers rely on in-store sales to bolster income but that will most certainly also have declined considerably because of the nationwide lockdown. With the margins on fuel low, and with usage plummeting, we believe many retailers will struggle to stay viable going forward,” the AA said.

“It is nearly impossible to predict what might come next in the fuel market. If the ongoing oversupply forces world oil prices further downwards, we might see at-the-pump fuel costs decline to levels last seen a decade ago or longer. But if demand suddenly increases, the reverse could also happen and prices could spike – although from a lower base,” the Association concluded.

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