Trade union Solidarity’s Research Institute (SRI) predict the price of 95-octane petrol will likely rise by around R1,55 per litre on 1 April (and no, this is not an April’s Fool joke), while the price of 93-octane petrol will rise by about 5c less. In addition, the wholesale price of diesel will probably rise by about R1,15 per litre.
According to Paul Joubert, senior economic researcher at the SRI, this will happen if the past few days’ somewhat lower rand oil price is sustained until next Thursday. Should this trend reverse, the increases will be steeper.
“A part of these increases stem from the 80,5c higher government levies on fuel announced by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech. The remainder of the increases will be due to higher oil prices in March, as well as the weakening of the rand against the US dollar,” Joubert says.
Joubert contends that it is still too early to precisely predict what will happen to local fuel prices. “Even if, during the rest of March, oil prices fall to the extremely low levels of around $46 per barrel which were seen in mid-January, the petrol price will still rise by about R1,40 per litre,” Joubert said. But it’s a bit more than that.
The Department of Energy made the final announcement regarding fuel prices on Friday the 27th of March.
Petrol will go up by up to R1.62 a litre on the 1st of April 2015.
At the coast 95 ULP & LRP will go up by R1.60, while in Gauteng it will increase by R1.62, while 93 ULP & LRP will cost R1.56 and R1.54 more in Gauteng and the coast respectively.
Price changes to be effected on Wednesday 1 April 2015 in Gauteng and at the coast
