Photo by: Bloomberg
Given the current level of the rand and the global price of oil, the petrol price will rise in the first week of December while diesel and paraffin will decline, according to the Automobile Association (AA).
The association said in a statement on Friday that it predicts an increase of 11 cents a litre for 95 octane petrol, and a seven-cent rise for 93 octane petrol.
Diesel is set to decrease by 18 cents per litre, while illuminating paraffin is set to drop by 21 cents.
The AA was commenting on unaudited mid-month fuel price data by the Central Energy Fund.
While the petrol price is set to rise, the Association noted that there is still good news. “Petrol price increases at this time of year will come as bad news for many people who will be travelling on holiday in December. However, the predicted drop in the diesel price means input costs in for instance the manufacturing and agricultural sectors remains relatively untouched in relation to fuel costs, which is good news.”
The AA said the economy has taken a breather with Moody's choosing to give South Africa the benefit of the doubt with a change of outlook, rather than a downgrade.
"The average Rand/US dollar exchange rate has been essentially flat, contributing a small decrease of about 3.5 cents to fuel prices as it maintains a level around R14.90 to the dollar. The picture for oil is similar, with the international prices of both petrol and diesel having run neck-and-neck for several days last week," the Association said.