After July’s mixed fuel price adjustments that saw petrol coming down slightly and diesel going up, it looks like both types of fuel will become more expensive from August.
Thankfully for those with petrol-powered cars, next month’s price hike is likely to be a small one, but owners of diesel vehicles will be hit with a more substantial increase.
Although it is too early to make an accurate prediction, current data is pointing towards an increase in the region of 10 cents per litre petrol, while diesel is looking set to go up by around 45 cents.
Those estimations are based on the interplay between the latest daily data and month-average released by the Central Energy Fund. Keep in mind that a lot can change between now and month-end.
“Currently the trajectory indicates that all fuel will be more expensive in August, with the quantum of the increases most probably being higher than the current data indicates,” the Automobile Association warned.
The association said current data showed that international oil prices were higher on average than in the previous month, while the average rand to US dollar exchange rate remains relatively flat, albeit testing the upside.
“Naturally, we remain concerned that the effect of more diesel prices will impact directly on consumers through higher prices given that this fuel is a major input cost in so many sectors,” the AA added.
At the time of writing, on July 18, the international price of Brent Crude oil was listed at $78.50 while the rand was trading at R17.97 to the US dollar.
Watch this space later in the month for further fuel price updates.