The Department of Energy has published the official fuel price adjustments for March, showing a big hike for both petrol and diesel.<\/p>\n
The following changes will take effect from Wednesday, 3 March 2021:<\/p>\n
The movement in prices is affected by two main factors \u2013 international petroleum costs, and the movement in the rand\/dollar exchange rate.<\/p>\n
The average international product prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased during the period under review.<\/p>\n
The rand, meanwhile, appreciated against the US dollar during the period under review, on average, when compared to the previous period.<\/p>\n
The average rand\/US dollar exchange rate for the period 29 January 2021 to 25 February 2021 was 14.7631 compared to 15.0872 during the previous period. This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 14.34 c\/l, 14.18 c\/l and 13.72 c\/l respectively.<\/p>\n
Despite the rand emerging stronger over the last month, the exchange rate benefit was not enough to counter rising oil prices.<\/p>\n
The Automobile Association has warned that global oil prices are reaching their pre-Covid-19 levels, which will translate to price hikes over the coming months if trends stay unchanged.<\/p>\n
“The USA\u2019s domestic oil production tailed off in the wake of the petroleum glut at the height of the Covid-19 first wave in 2020, but information from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is showing that US inventories have dropped back into a normal range,\u201d the AA said.<\/p>\n
“If US production doesn\u2019t catch up with the falling inventory, the oil price will come under further pressure,” it said.<\/p>\n
April will also see tax hikes around fuel come into effect, with\u00a0a significant addition of 26 cents a litre to fuel prices because of increases to the General Fuel and Road Accident Fund levies. These were announced by National Treasury in the 2021 budget speech.<\/p>\n
This is how the prices will reflect in March:<\/p>\n
| Fuel (Inland)<\/th>\n | February official<\/a><\/th>\n | March official<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|---|
| 95 Petrol<\/td>\n | R15.67<\/td>\n | R16.32 (R15.84 March 2020)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 93 Petrol<\/td>\n | R15.50<\/td>\n | R16.15 (R15.52)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 0.05% Diesel (wholesale)<\/td>\n | R13.58<\/td>\n | R14.12 (R14.03)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| 0.005% Diesel (wholesale)<\/td>\n | R13.61<\/td>\n | R14.17 (R14.08 )<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Illuminating Paraffin<\/td>\n | R7.99<\/td>\n | R8.46 (R8.56)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n |