A fuel price increase will be the first major expense to hit South Africans as a result of a weaker rand‚ the Automobile Association of SA (AA) has warned. The AA’s mid-month data forecasts that petrol will rise 55c a litre in May‚ while diesel will cost about 30c a litre more. Illuminating paraffin will cost an estimated 41c a litre extra. The fuel-hike predictions are based on unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. "The loss of confidence by investors and the sovereign ratings downgrades by ratings agencies Fitch and S&P‚ have led to the rand slipping against the US dollar‚ down from around R12.35 at the beginning of the month to its current position of around R13.40‚" said the AA’s Layton Beard. The AA said the rand’s weakness largely contributed to the expected fuel price increase‚ with hikes in international petroleum prices accounting for the balance. "However, there is no certainty that the impact of the downgrades has been fully priced into ...
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