There’s some bad news on the cards for South African motorists who will need to dig a little deeper into their pockets as fuel prices hit record highs. This comes after the government announced an increase of R1.21 a litre for petrol while diesel will increase by R1.48 a litre, effective from Wednesday after midnight.
The latest fuel price increases are even higher than those forecast by the Automobile Association in October as petrol has skyrocketed by more than R5 per litre since January (R14.01).
The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will rise by R1.45/l, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said, while the average Brent oil price increased from $75.50 in September to $83.40 per barrel in October, reaching its highest level since 2018.
“The rand depreciated against the US dollar during the period under review, on average, when compared to the previous period. The average rand/US dollar exchange rate for the period 01 October 2021 to 27 October 2021 was R14.8175 compared to R14.5654 during the previous period,” the DMRE adds.
The weakening rand led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by over 15 cents per litre.
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Picture: Supplied