File picture: Henk Kruger/ANA/African News Agency.

Johannesburg - South African motorists have been warned to prepare for yet another increase in the price of fuel, with month-end data from the Central Energy Fund showing that increases are on the cards for both petrol and diesel.

According to the Automobile Association, the price of 95 Octane petrol is looking likely to increase by around 19 cents a litre on Wednesday, October 02, while the diesel price is set to rise by around 25 cents.

95 Unleaded currently retails at R15.39 at the coast and R16.03 inland.

Earlier in the month it had appeared as though fuel prices would decrease in October, but that all changed with the done attacks on the Abqaiq oil refinery in Saudi Arabia.

"The landed price of fuels in South Africa jumped by as much as a rand a litre in just three days after the attack, before settling back slightly,” the AA said. 

“This turned a generally stable price picture into a negative one.”

However, the stronger oil prices have thankfully been offset to a degree by the fact that the rand gained some ground against the US dollar during much of September, the association noted.

"Without the Rand's performance, we could have been looking at price rises in excess of 40 cents a litre for some fuels," the AA added.

Although the Saudi refineries could be repaired within a few weeks, September’s drone attacks have created a risky environment for global oil markets by showing that large oil refineries and storage depots are vulnerable to such sneak attacks. This certainly leaves the world at risk of more unpredictable price shocks.

On top of that, South Africas petrol prices remain historically high, currently just R1.10 below the all-time high recorded in October 2018. Prices fell by over R3 a litre between then and January, however a spate of smaller increases this year have eroded most of that price relief. 

A further blow was provided by the 30 cents a litre increase in fuel taxes, which the Minister of Finance announced back in February.

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