Image via ANA
Image via ANA
It feels like we’re all dressed up with nowhere to go. For the second time in two months, the petrol price in South Africa is set to fall dramatically. But under current lockdown restrictions, there are few places we can drive to. This latest forecast would see more than R3.50 wiped off the per-litre costs since the end of March.
We might be unable to do much, but you can still buy petrol and diesel, as it is a designated “essential service”. There’s no need to rush to the pumps – these estimated prices from the Central Energy Fund will be fixed until June, once they’re officially confirmed by the government. The next time you need to fill-up, you’re looking at some pretty generous offerings:
Subtracting these totals from the April fuel price gives us the following average cost-per-litre for petrol and diesel. These prices are forecast to come into effect from next week onwards:
Fuel | Inland | Coastal | Difference |
Petrol | R12.22 | R11.52 | Down by R1.74 |
Diesel | R11.18 | R10.58 | Down by R1.51 |
Two words: Oil crash. The price of WTI oil went into negative territory for the first time, meaning that the substance was actually worth so little, that the cost to store it outweighed the price of selling it on. An enormous drop in demand sent the market into freefall.
One can only imagine the petrol paradise we’d be strolling in if the rand was a bit healthier. ZAR has staged something of a recovery recently, but its performance against the US dollar has been terrible – it even plunged through the $1 : R19 barrier in just a few weeks ago. But the devastation caused to the oil industry far outweighs the lag in our exchange rates and international financial performances.
Average capacity: 45 litres
Cost for a full tank of petrol: R518.40
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R476.10
Average capacity: 75 litres
Cost for a full tank of petrol: R864
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R793.50
Average capacity: 250 litres
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R2 645
Average capacity: 20 litres
Cost for a full tank of petrol: R230.40
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R211.60
Average capacity: 45 litres
Cost for a full tank of petrol: R549.90
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R503.10
Average capacity: 75 litres
Cost for a full tank of petrol: R916.50
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R838.50
Average capacity: 250 litres
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R2 795
Average capacity: 20 litres
Cost for a full tank of petrol: R244.40
Cost for a full tank of diesel: R223.60