RUSTENBURG, August 3 (ANA) - Angola remains the only African country where petrol prices are low, whereas the Central African Republic is expensive, according to data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
Angola is ranked first in Africa and third in the world out of 167 countries where petrol prices are cheap.
South African petrol and diesel prices are set to increase again in August, while in neighbouring Namibia prices will remain unchanged.
Petrol prices in South Africa are affected by the rand/dollar exchange rate, as well as changes to international petroleum product costs.
The petrol retail price is regulated by the government and changes every month on the first Wednesday of the month.
The petrol price in South Africa will go up by 91 cents per litre for both grades and diesel by between 54 and 55 cents per litre as of August 4, putting 95-Octane petrol at R18.20 per litre (about US$1.26) inland.
Namibia keeps petrol unchanged at N$13.55 (about US$0.91), which means South African motorists are paying almost R5 more for petrol than Namibians.
According to a report in daily newspaper The Namibian, the Ministry of Mines and Energy said that despite an increase in international prices, coupled with a depreciating Namibian dollar, the National Energy Fund will absorb all under-recoveries for the month of August, to “soften the burden on consumers”.
According to data from GlobalPetrolPrices.com, as of July 26, in Africa, petrol was cheaper in Angola, where a litre cost US$0.25 (about R3.59 in South African currency) and expensive in the Central African Republic, where it costs US$2.18 per litre (about R31.27).
Algeria is second at US$0.34 per litre, followed by Nigeria at US$0.41. Ethiopia is fourth at US$0.49, Egypt fifth at US$0.56 and Tunisia (US$0.74) sixth. Seventh is Liberia (US$0.77), followed by Zambia (US$0.78) and Sierra Leone (US$0.83). Botswana completes the top 10 African countries where petrol is cheap, at US$0.89 per litre.
South Africa is ranked 31 in Africa, Zimbabwe 38, Namibia 14, eSwatini 15, and Lesotho 17.
According to GlobalPetrolPrices.com, the average price of petrol around the world was US$1.19 per litre as of July 26. However, there was a substantial difference in these prices among countries.
"As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices. One notable exception is the US, which is an economically advanced country but has low gas prices.
"The differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline. All countries have access to the same petroleum prices on international markets but then decide to impose different taxes. As a result, the retail price of gasoline is different," wrote GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
- African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher