The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has published the latest weekly fuel price forecast, showing a massive increase in petrol and diesel prices expected to hit in December.
Diesel prices increased by R1.43 a litre from last week Wednesday- and early indications are that further pain is expected in December.
While diesel went up by R1.43 per litre for 0.05 and R1.44 for 0.005% petrol for both 93 and 95 octanes increased by 51 cents a litre.
Published by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) through its digital assistant ReseGo, the weekly update provides a snapshot of market conditions at the end of each week, giving an indication of where the prices of fuel are headed for the coming month.
While its too early in the month to accurately predict what lies ahead for diesel and petrol prices in December, the latest data available from the CEF- as of 2 November- shows worrying signs.
The department highlights that the snapshot is not predictive but rather serves as a fuel price indication. As market conditions change throughout the month, so does the forecasts.
According to the forecast, the current price changes are on the cards for December 2022:
- Petrol 93 and 95: increase of R1.25 per litre
- Diesel 0.05%: increase of 60 cents per litre
- Diesel 0.005%: increase of 69 cents per litre
- Paraffin: increase of 42 cents per litre
The CEF’s more detailed breakdown of market fluctuations shows that the key driver behind the bleak forecast is the increasing cost of international petroleum products. This is exacerbated by a weaker rand.
At the time of publishing the rand/dollar exchange rate was at R18.27.
Global oil prices have remained below $100 a barrel in recent months but have climbed from a low point of around $83 a barrel at the start of October.
At the time of publishing the brent crude oil price $95.83 a barrel.
Source: The South African, Business Tech, image from Twitter: @VOCfm