Motorists will pay less for petrol at the pumps from Wednesday, thanks to the rand’s performance against the dollar over the past month, the Department of Energy said.<\/p>\n
Petrol will drop by 36 cents a litre, while diesel will decline by between 44 cents and 47 cents per litre.<\/p>\n
The department said that illuminating paraffin will decrease between 23 cents and 30 cents while liquefied petroleum gas will drop by 69 cents.<\/p>\n
The rand appreciated, on average, against the US dollar (from R12.20 to R11.82 per US dollar) during the period under review, the department said.<\/p>\n
“This led to a lower contribution to the basic fuel price on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 19.33c\/l, 19.68c\/l and 20.53 c\/l respectively,” it said.<\/p>\n
It also noted that the average Brent Crude oil price decreased from $69.06 to $65.05 per barrel during the period under review.\u00a0 This led to lower prices of petroleum products in the international markets.<\/p>\n
“The main contributing factor was the abundance of crude in the market, particularly with growing exports from the US Gulf coast, which kept the price low in the market. Furthermore the forthcoming widespread refinery maintenance in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific is also\u00a0 muting demand for crude and limiting upward price movement.”<\/p>\n
Here are the adjustments (inland prices):<\/p>\n
| Fuel<\/th>\n | February official<\/th>\n | March official<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|---|
| 93 Petrol<\/td>\n | R13.90<\/td>\n | R13.54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 95 Petrol<\/td>\n | R14.12<\/td>\n | R13.76<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 0.05% Diesel (wholesale)<\/td>\n | R12.57<\/td>\n | R12.10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n |