The mineral and petroleum resources department attributed this to a lower average Brent crude oil price and firmer rand during the period under review
A wider Middle East war would hit an already fragile and fragmented economy.
A bigger alliance will give the group extra economic heft, but it remains to be seen whether its members can speak in one voice
‘The worst is yet to come,’ the IMF said about the global economy this week. But, for now at least, South Africa’s inflation looks to be subsiding
Africa’s largest oil producer has not been able to cash in fully on the price rally because of lacklustre production and its reliance on imported fuel
The breakdown of the oil-producer alliance could cause already high prices to spike
Biggest players in the game show signs of recovery but a low-carbon future may threaten fossil fuel
Steep fuel price hikes are the result of higher levies, which came into effect this week, as well as a turbulent international oil market
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/ 31 January 2011
Oil topped $100 per barrel on Monday for the first time since 2008, as traders fretted over violent unrest in Egypt.
Opec says Europe’s debt crisis and an oversupply of crude in the market are weighing heavily on crude demand in the second half of the year.
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/ 22 December 2009
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as Opec decided at a meeting against changing the cartel’s official crude output levels, in a widely expected move.
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/ 21 December 2009
Opec members, gathered in poverty-stricken Angola on Monday, said they would hold output firm amid comfortably high prices.
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/ 21 December 2009
The oil price of Opec stood nearly unchanged at ,78 at the end of last week, the cartel said on Monday, ahead of its conference in Angola.
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/ 30 December 2008
Oil fell below a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by gloom about prospects for world economic growth.
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/ 17 December 2008
Opec ministers on Wednesday agreed to remove a record 2,2-million barrels per day (bpd) from oil markets.
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/ 24 October 2008
Oil fell below a barrel on Friday, to new 16-month lows, as gloom about a global economic downturn.
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/ 22 October 2008
Oil fell below a barrel on Wednesday, pressured by a gloomy outlook for the global economy.
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/ 10 October 2008
Oil fell more than a barrel to a one-year low on Friday, depressed by expectations that global demand growth will shrink.
Oil prices fell below a barrel on Thursday in Asia on investor fears that crude demand will weaken amid turmoil in the financial system.
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/ 10 September 2008
World oil prices rebounded on Wednesday above $100 a barrel after a surprise decision Opec to cut production by 520 000 barrels a day.
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/ 6 September 2008
Is it over? Was that the oil shock? Can we relax, sit back and expect our energy bills and prices at the pumps to tumble?
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/ 2 September 2008
Oil prices dived under $105 on Tuesday, reaching four-month lows, after Hurricane Gustav apparently spared key United States energy facilities.
Oil fell to a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session’s steep losses.
Oil fell to its lowest price in three months on Friday, briefly touching the level after the dollar muscled higher.
Opec has concerns that future demand for oil might not be strong enough to justify investment to boost oil production.
Oil leapt to a new record high near a barrel on Friday, extending gains after surging nearly 4% in the previous session.
Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, president of Opec, forecast on Thursday that oil prices could rise to $150 to $170 a barrel.
Chakib Khelil, president of Opec, on Tuesday rebuffed calls from oil-consuming countries to increase supply.
World energy powers embarked on a new level of dialogue to rein in runaway oil prices at an emergency meeting in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Sunday.
The world’s top energy policymakers meet in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Sunday for emergency talks on halting oil’s unrelenting rally.
Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) president Chakib Khelil reiterated on Saturday that Opec would not make a decision on output policy before its next scheduled meeting in September, and said oil-market fundamentals were not responsible for high oil prices.
Oil climbed to a life-time high above a barrel on Wednesday, driven higher by a combination of long-term production worries and a near-term focus on tight fuel stocks. A United States government report later on Wednesday was expected to show crude inventories rose for a fifth straight week.