Motorists in South Africa will need to brace for further pain at the fuel pumps in October, with yet another sharp increase in the petrol price likely due to rising crude oil prices.<\/p>\n
Citing the latest information from the Department of Energy on Friday,\u00a0independent economist Fanie Brink said that the price of gasoline 93 (ULP & LRP) in Gauteng could increase by 31.3 cents per litre<\/strong> next month, while the price of diesel with a 0.005% sulfur content could rise by 32.8 cents per litre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Brink said that the average daily Brent crude oil price has risen to $55.50 a barrel over the past two weeks, mainly due to the increased demand for crude oil in the international market and the supply constraints of the members of the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia.<\/p>\n “The higher crude oil price has resulted in sharp increases in the average international prices of petroleum products, which could cause possible increases of 43.3 cents per litre in the gasoline price and 44.8 cents per litre in the diesel price,” he said.<\/p>\n The economist noted that while the daily average dollar\/rand exchange rate has strengthened to R\/$12.75 over the past two weeks, it has since weakened again to R\/$13.12 –\u00a0 but it will, at this stage, lower both the gasoline and diesel prices by 12 cents per litre.<\/p>\n The final price changes will be announced by the Minister of Energy towards the end of September.<\/p>\n