January Fuel Decrease Will Not Continue in February, Major Petrol Price Increase Expected

• Experts predict that in February, fuel prices will increase dramatically after the slight relief provided by decreases in January
• Petrol might go up by as much as R1.30 per litre in the first week of February due to the global oil price rise
• Food prices will also be affected by damages incurred during recent floods, which destroyed crops

JOHANNESBURG - Experts predict that in February, fuel prices will increase dramatically after the slight relief provided by decreases in January. The prices of many food items are also expected to increase.

Petrol might go up by as much as R1.30 per litre in the first week of February. This price increase is due to the global oil price rising. The petrol price will be driven to over R20 per litre because of the R1.30 increase.

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According to BusinessTech, besides fuel prices, food prices will also be affected by damages incurred during recent floods, which destroyed crops and caused soil conditions that are not suitable for planting.

Why the fuel price is increasing

At the beginning of 2022, the petrol price dropped by 68c per litre, giving many South Africans hope that the pattern would continue throughout the year. In addition, the fuel prices benefitted from the Rand strengthening against the US Dollar.

The South African reports that the January decrease provided false hope, as the petrol price is predicted to rise several times this year. The basis of this prediction is the 5% increase in Brent Oil prices.

"After some reprieve on the domestic fuel price front in January, the renewed rise in the oil price is likely to result in another hefty fuel price increase in February," the Bureau of Economic Research said.

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Reactions to the estimated petrol price increase

@The_Thindi asked:

"When do we get a break?"

@_Katleho_ remarked:

"I'm not surprised."

@TribalJudas shared:

"I'm checking out!"

@Epicurus_H said:

"Right now I don't care anymore."

Fuel in SA costs way more than other neighbouring countries, except for Zimbabwe

In other news about fuel prices, Briefly News previously reported that a number of countries around the world had to grapple with fuel price hikes in the past year, in some cases prices increased to historical high amounts.

South Africa is one of those countries and saw petrol price reaching the R20 per litre mark in December 2020. Petrol now retails for R19,61.

While the R20 per litre mark may seem quite high for ordinary South Africans, this is actually the average fuel price across the globe. Tax and levies in specific countries are what determine the final fuel price and this is how fuel prices end up varying.

Source: Briefly News