The AA said that while an expected fuel price decrease is welcome, an expected diesel price increase means higher input costs to the agriculture and manufacturing sector, which may result in higher prices for consumers.
THE AUTOMOBILE Association (AA) said that data from the Central Energy Fund points to a decrease in the fuel price while an increase in the price of diesel is expected.
Layton Beard, spokesperson for the AA, said that petrol and illuminating paraffin prices are set for a second consecutive month of price decreases when fuel prices are officially adjusted next Wednesday.
“This is according to the latest unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF). However, the data does show that diesel prices are set to increase.”
Beard added that, according to the data, both grades of petrol are expected to decrease by between 17 cents/litre and 25c/l, while diesel is expected to increase by around 20c/l.
He said illuminating paraffin is set for a marginal decrease of three cents a litre.
“The breakdown of the data shows that the average exchange rate used in the basic fuel price decreased over June from around R19.50 to the US dollar to around R18.80 to the USD, which accounts for most of the petrol price decrease.”
Beard said that the movement in international oil prices is impacting negatively on diesel, contributing significantly to its expected increase.
“A decrease to the price of petrol is naturally welcome news, and will provide some relief to embattled consumers. The increase to diesel, though, means input costs in, amongst other sectors, the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, are also likely to increase which may result in higher prices for consumers.”
