The current fuel price adjustments are due mainly to international factors, namely, the lower crude oil prices and weaker rand. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
The retail price of petrol (93 ULP & LRP) will go down by R1.22 per litre in January, the department of energy announced on Friday.
It will come into effect on Wednesday January 2 2019.
Petrol (95 ULP & LRP) will decrease by R1.23 per litre, while diesel (0.05% sulphur) will go down by R1.53 per litre and diesel (0.005% sulphur) will decrease by R1.55 per litre.
The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will decrease by R1.23.
The current fuel price adjustments are due mainly to international factors, namely, the lower crude oil prices and weaker rand, minister of energy Jeff Radebe said in a statement following the announcement.
The average rand/dollar exchange rate for the period from November 30 to December 26, 2018 was R14.18/$ compared to R14.09/$ during the previous period.
According to the department, this led to a higher contribution to the basic fuel prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 3.42 cents per litre, 3.98 cents per litre, and 4.06 cents per litre respectively.
Furthermore, the average Brent Crude oil price decreased from $65.09 to $58.28 per barrel during the period under review. This was due mainly to concerns about the growth in demand as stock markets weakened because of the confusion stemming from the postponement of a parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal, according to Radebe. — Fin24