How ever the cookie crumbles South African motorists are facing another huge fuel price increase in October, but it might not be as steep as originally anticipated.
The latest unaudited information from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows that the fuel price outlook has improved since mid-month.
According to the latest CEF daily snapshot, 95 Unleaded petrol shows an average under-recovery of just less than R1 for both grades of petrol and if the current, and more positive trends continue for the remainder of the week, the eventual increase could be under 80 cents.
That’s still a bitter pill to swallow following the R1.71 petrol price hike that was implemented at the beginning of September, but it is an improvement over the R1.20 mid-month outlook.
The situation is bleaker on the diesel front, however, with current information pointing to increases of just over R1.70, however the more positive data seen in recent days could see it drop beneath that level by the end of this week.
That’s still a bad omen for the economy, following September’s R2.76 diesel increase that threatens to fuel general inflation as transport costs filter through.
The predicted increases for October are largely due to higher international oil prices, with Brent Crude oil trading around the $93 mark late month, having broken through the $90 mark earlier in September, for the first time in 10 months.
“Should these significant increases materialise, they will push fuel prices to levels last seen in July last year, stretching the personal finances of South Africans even further,” the Automobile Association said.