
As of the end of 13 October, South African fuel prices look set for a big jump across the board come the first Wednesday of November.
BusinessTech reports that mid-month price data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows that motorists can expect a price hike of at least 38 cents per litre for petrol and R1.54 per litre for diesel next month.
According to the CEF, fuel prices in November are expected to increase as follows:
- Petrol 93 – Increase of 48 cents per litre
- Petrol 95 – Increase of 38 cents per litre
- Diesel 0.05% – Increase of R1.54 cents per litre
- Diesel 0.005% – Increase of R1.57 cents per litre
- Illuminating paraffin – Increase of 57 cents per litre
This comes after a welcome two months of relief for petrol, while diesel has been on the rise near-continuously in recent times due to increasing global demand and lacking supply.
Risk of fuel shortages
The potential increase in prices follows the recent news that South Africa may soon be facing fuel shortages.
In an interview with ENCA, aviation expert Des Latham said that the country is becoming increasingly reliant on international fuel as local refineries are struggling to meet demand.
This could have severe consequences in the short term as the negative effects of global logistics and supply issues could spill over into the domestic market.
Latham’s warnings have already come to fruition, as earlier in October fuel rationing at the Cape Town International Airport had to be implemented due to a delayed shipment of jet fuel.
South Africa only produces small amounts of select products, too, leading to an even higher reliance on imported fuels when local refineries are not running, such as when Sasol shut down the country’s largest oil refinery in August while awaiting another delayed shipment of goods.
“This has become an issue because we are at the bottom end of Africa, and as supply chain issues evolve, we can not secure our own fuel supplies locally at the levels we need,” Latham told ENCA.
“This is not anything new, but when we run into a limitation, there are knock-on effects.”