December Brings Good and Bad news for Fuel Price
Data from the mid-month audit of November 2022 shows a mixed case for fuel price going into December. This is from the unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and presented by the Automobile Association (AA).
Note that these increases and decreases in fuel price are likely to change before December rolls around, but the trend will stay the same.
For our petrol users, there could be significant increases between 97c/litre and R1.09/litre. This won’t top the high we saw in July but it will be greater than the last three months. The AA says that this increase is primarily caused by international product prices.
Diesel has better news as we are expecting a decrease. The price could be going down by up to 34c/litre which is a welcome change.
Finally, the price of illuminating paraffin may increase by around 30c/litre which is concerning as many rely on this fuel source for heat.
“With these expected increases to petrol, the price of a litre of 95ULP, for instance, will climb to just under R24/l which will be way below the high of R26.74/l seen in July, but which will still be higher than September, October, and November prices. The decrease to diesel is, of course, welcome and should, at least, not immediately negatively impact other prices reliant on diesel as an input cost. Of course, the increase to illuminating paraffin remains a concern as it will affect the poor most,” says the AA.
“However, increases to petrol prices are almost certain to happen while decreases to diesel are also almost a certainty. Given that many people will be travelling by vehicle in December we advise motorists to carefully plan their budgets now to ensure they have the necessary funds to cover their expenses, which may also include toll fees on certain routes,” notes the AA.
