(Mori Yama / Flickr)
(Mori Yama / Flickr)
For a second consecutive month, the petrol price is set to drop for South Africans. That’s according to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, whose mid-month data suggests that we will start the new year as we mean to go on. But don’t get too excited – the forecasted decrease for February isn’t a massive one.
Why the petrol price may drop in February
The rand has been steady without being spectacular against the US Dollar, and oil prices – despite surging at the start of the month – have calmed alongside the situation in the Middle East. America and Iran pulled themselves back from the brink of conflict, and global fuel prices have enjoyed a plateau.
As it stands, petrol will fall by eight-cents-per-litre in the coming weeks. The news isn’t too good for diesel users, however – they face an increase of 12-cents-per-litre.
However, the mid-month estimates are subject to change by the time we fill our cars up in February. And a few factors are working against the South African consumer: The advent of load shedding in 2020 has cost the economy billions, as businesses struggling with the looming threat of power outages.
That’s not conducive to a happy and healthy ZAR, and a lack of business confidence could wipe out any potential gains for our petrol price payments.
The forecast petrol price for January 2020
Assuming this forecast is correct, 22 cents will have been wiped off the per-litre petrol price From December 2019 – February 2020. That’s a decline of about 1.5%, and although it’s not an earth-shattering movement, the cost is at least moving in the right direction for the general public.
Taking these forecasts and first estimates into account, here’s what you can expect to pay for fuel from the first week of February onwards. However, we have to stress that these mid-month estimates are liable to change by the time the Department of Energy set next month’s costs in stone.
Coastal
- Petrol: R15.44
- Diesel: R14.20
Inland
- Petrol: R16.08
- Diesel: R14.72
