A petrol holiday proposed by the Energy Department would be in place for ‘a maximum of two months’ – Photo: Pixabay
A petrol holiday proposed by the Energy Department would be in place for ‘a maximum of two months’ – Photo: Pixabay
New year, same old setbacks. The petrol price for January 2021 is on course for a substantial rise, after several factors worked against the forecast for next month. Diesel costs are also set to spike next week.
Petrol price for South Africa in January 2021
According to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, the petrol price is set to shoot-up by 43 cents per litre. The picture is even worse for diesel consumers, who are now likely to pay 55 cents more for each litre of fuel:
- Petrol is set to rise by 43 cents per litre.
- Diesel is going up by 55 cents per litre.
- Average petrol price forecast for January 2021 – R14.89 inland, R14.19 by the coast.
- Average diesel price forecast for January 2021 – R12.98 inland, R12.38 by the coast.
Fuel costs could increase further in February
The AA revealed that the soaring price of oil has hurt the export reliant fuel market in South Africa. Coupled with a more optimistic outlook on global business, despite the second wave of COVID-19 forcing lockdowns in many other nations, and positive news related to vaccine developments, both petrol and diesel prices may skyrocket further after January
“The rand has continued to advance against the US dollar, which is a pleasing outcome considering the severe beating the currency took earlier in the year. But even the currency’s ongoing strength has not been enough to contain oil’s march back towards its pre-COVID-19 price levels.”
“The basic fuel price has shot up since the start of December, raising the spectre of quite substantial fuel price rises. The International Energy Agency’s comments regarding optimism that an effective vaccine for COVID-19 may accelerate the economic recovery from the pandemic…”
“Although the IEA does not expect a significant impact before the second half of 2021, we would not be surprised if optimism over the vaccine has been behind recent oil strength. Further strength might be on the cards if the vaccination plan shows large-scale effectiveness.”
AA statement
