Fleet owners will have to fork out more to refuel their vehicles as significant fuel price increases take effect at midnight on Tuesday.
The price of 93 and 95 petrol is set to increase by 82 cents per litre, while the price of 0.05% and 0.005% diesel will go up by R1.01 and R1.05 cents per litre. The price of illuminating paraffin (wholesale) will increase by 97 cents per litre and LPG Gas will rise by 42 cents per kilogram.
This is according to the latest fuel price adjustments published by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy on Tuesday.
According to the department, the higher global price of petrol and the weaker rand relative to December led to an under-recovery in prices.
The average price of Brent Crude oil rose from USD 72.78 to USD 77.41 during the period under review.
Upward pressure on the oil price was driven mostly by the cold weather in the Northern hemisphere and an anticipated increase in demand for oil from China after its announcement of economic stimulation policies.
The decision of OPEC+ to delay production increases until April and fresh sanctions against Russia and Iran have also put pressure on pricing as this could constrain supply and lead to elevated freight rates.
The rand depreciated against the US dollar from R18.11 to R18.73 during the period under review.
This resulted in higher contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 36.85 c/l, 39.58 c/l and 38.61 c/l respectively.
The price increases take effect on 5 February.
