Motorists to brace for another fuel increase

The past few months have been riddled with fluctuations in the fuel price index, with the past few months proving to dish out quite a few blows. According to the Automobile Association (AA) this month end is set to be no different.

“Across-the-board losses from the exchange rate are set to hit fuel consumers at the end of October,” this is according to the Automobile Association (AA), commenting on unaudited month-end fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund (CEF).

“The landed price of petrol actually dropped by around 18 cents a litre in October, while the landed price of diesel showed a slight increase of five cents,” the AA said.

Further, the Rand fell by around 22 cents to the US dollar, which translated into all grades of fuel likely being more expensive in November.

“Petrol will rise a modest four cents a litre, but diesel users will pay up to 26 cents more, with illuminating paraffin set to rise by 18 cents. Fuel prices have not yet felt the full effect of the Rand's weakening in the wake of Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba's Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS)," the AA commented.

The association further said that they expect the impact of the MTBPS to feed into next month’s calculations, meaning that South Africans should ready themselves for potential further fuel price hikes in the lead up to Christmas.