Big fuel price drop likely in August

Picture: Boxer Ngwenya

Picture: Boxer Ngwenya

Published Jul 15, 2016

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After months of being squeezed by higher fuel prices, South African motorists are likely to receive some relief at the pumps in August.

According to the Automobile Association, mid-month fuel data is pointing towards a petrol price decrease of up to 83 cents a litre, with diesel coming down by around 45 cents and illuminating paraffin by around 42 cents.

The usual 'don't get your hopes up too high' disclaimer applies here though as these predictions are based on mid-month data and the final price for August will depend on how the rand and international oil prices perform between now and the end of the month, but so far both factors have been working in our favour.

Brexit has been playing to our advantage so far. Though Britain's vote to leave the European Union caused the rand to weaken initially, it has since recovered, while oil prices continued to retreat. At the time of writing, the rand was trading at R14.35 while crude oil was $47.02.

READ: Fuel price calculation: who takes what?

Yet has the upward price cycle really been reversed?

“The underlying trend has been towards higher fuel prices over the past months as the Rand weakened and international oil prices climbed. It is not yet clear what effect recent events will have on this trend, and it would be premature to assume it has been disrupted.” the AA cautioned.

Motoring.co.za

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