The fuel increases announced on Friday will have a sharp and immediate effect on the poor and a long-term impact on inflation, said the Automobile Association (AA).
Fuel prices are set to be adjusted at midnight on Tuesday, March 2.
“These increases will certainly impact every single South African given the reliance the country has on fuels for transport, manufacturing and in the agricultural sector,” said AA.
Petrol will increase by R1.46 per litre; diesel will rise by R1.44/l to as much as R1.48/l and illuminating paraffin by R1.21/l.
The AA said for the first time in history, 95-octane petrol inland would rise above R21 a litre, while at the coast it would cost R20.88/l, the first time it had breached the R20/l level.
Illuminating paraffin will also rise to new highs, costing R13.18/l inland and R12.36/l at the coast.
“This fuel is used extensively in poorer communities for heating, cooking and lighting, and will be in higher demand as the country moves from a hot summer into a more moderate autumn over the next few weeks.”
According to the AA, the increases for March are mainly attributable to rising international petroleum prices as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and would have been more severe had the rand not stabilised against the US dollar in the past few weeks.
The AA said the outlook for April remained unclear, but Russia’s military action in Ukraine could push international oil prices higher, which would again impact South Africans.
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