Petrol hike of nearly R4 a litre on the cards, diesel could climb R6.75

Motorists could soon feel a heavy hit at the pumps, with petrol showing a possible increase of about R4 a litre and diesel up to R6.75 a litre based on the latest fuel price data. The figures come from the Central Energy Fund’s latest fuel price analysis. It shows a growing gap between current pump prices and the cost of fuel based oninternational markets.

According to the data, the average under-recovery for petrol 95 was 397.802 cents per litre, while petrol 93 was 361.817 cents per litre. Diesel showed even larger under-recoveries of 663.465 cents per litre for 0.05% diesel and 674.686 cents per litre for 0.005% diesel. In rand terms, this translates to roughly R3.98 per litre for petrol 95, R3.62 per litre for petrol 93, and about R6.63 to R6.75 per litre for diesel.

Households using paraffin could also face a steep increase, with illuminating paraffin showing an under-recovery of about R8.53 a litre if current trends continue. An under-recovery means the current fuel price is lower than what it should be based on international oil prices and the rand-dollar exchange rate. When this gap builds up during the month it usually leads to a fuel price increase in the next monthly adjustment. The final price can still change before it is announced at the start of April.