Fuel Price to Increase by Over R1 per Litre, South Africans Furious Amid Financial Pressure

• At midnight on Tuesday, 2 November, South Africa's petrol and diesel prices will increase by over R1 per litre following last week's warnings by the Automobile Association
• The price hike has been attributed to the rand weakening against the dollar in the period between 1 October and 27 October
• South Africans are furious about the petrol increase as many are currently struggling to cope financially

JOHANNESBURG - At midnight tonight, the petrol price in South Africa will rise by R1.21 per litre and diesel by R1.48.

This dramatic price hike is due to the rand weakening against the dollar. The Energy Department issued a statement on Monday night explaining how this happened.

He said that it was contingent on the rand/dollar exchange rate. Between 1 and 27 October, the exchange rate was R14.81 to the dollar, whereas it was R14.57 previously, reports EWN. This in turn affected the prices of petrol, diesel and paraffin.

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Reasons for the fuel price increase

The minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, explained that various factors, both local and international, are taken into consideration when setting South Africa's fuel prices.

According to Times Live, the three main factors that influence fuel prices are the rand/dollar exchange rate, the crude oil price and the price of petroleum internationally. South Africa imports crude oil, which carries costs for importing, shipping and the product itself.

In the last period, crude oil achieved its highest price since October 2018, which set the lead for refined petroleum products internationally to reach comparable prices.

South Africa reacts to fuel price hike

South Africans expressed their feelings regarding the upcoming petrol price hike on Twitter. Here is what some people had to say:

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@robinsonkjean said:

"How are people supposed to afford to live with impact of these extreme price hikes?"

@Arkangelkratos believes:

"Government making a quick buck to pay bonuses."

@ynotamil shared:

"The percentage of the company tax of all fossil fuel profiteers MUST go up every month also, until it reaches 100% of their profits."

@MasonMountIsMy1 said:

"Time to move to one of the coastal provinces, at least the petrol is slightly cheaper there."

Petrol price to reach over R20 per litre

Last week, Briefly News reported on the Automobile Association warning the country that petrol could soon cost over R20 per litre.

The warning comes after data from the Central Energy Fund revealed that the global energy crisis and the rands' continuous decline will result in fuel prices increasing in the country.

The data showed that there is a significant under-recovery when it comes to the prices of petrol and diesel, which has also been attributed to the increase of prices.

Source: Briefly News