Diesel price drops but petrol to rise from Wednesday

The petrol price will increase 4c/l in September but diesel-using motorists will enjoy a breather, with the wholesale price of low-sulphur 50ppm diesel to decrease 14c/l and 500ppm by 15c/l.

Illuminating paraffin will decrease 15c/l.

The Central Energy Fund (CEF), which adjusts fuel prices monthly, says the oil price decreased during the period under review but the higher petrol price is due to mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe approving a retail margin increase of 5.7c/l for petrol from September 1, to accommodate the wage increases of pump attendants, cashiers and administrative staff at service stations.

Fuel prices have soared in recent months. After reaching a record high in July, the pump price of petrol rose by 91c/l  in August and the wholesale price of diesel increased by up to 56c.

"International petroleum prices continued their gradual retreat during August, having pulled back by about 10% since the start of the month. We attribute this mainly to the Opec cartel, which increased oil production gradually during the first half until previous production restrictions were removed," said the Automobile Association (AA).

The association says it is concerned about the trajectory of the rand, whose average exchange rate against the dollar weakened considerably since July 6. The rand slid from about R14.32 on that day to worse than R14.70, with daily highs peaking in excess of R15.30.

From Wednesday, the retail price of a litre of 95 unleaded petrol will be R18.34 inland and R17.62 at the coast. This compares to R14.86 (inland) and R14.16 (coast) in January.

The wholesale price of 500 ppm diesel will be R15.49 (inland) and R14.87 (coast).