The government will increase the price of fuel by 43 cents a litre next week Wednesday, the department of energy announced on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, the department said the price of petrol would increase by 41 cents a litre but later announced that it had made an error and the increase instead would be 43 cents a litre.
The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will increase by 64 cents a litre and diesel (0.005% sulphur) will increase by 63 cents a litre.
The maximum retail price for petroleum gas (lpgas) will increase by 71 cents a kilogramme.
The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will increase by 70 centres a litre and the single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin will increase by 94 cents a litre.
The government attributed the increases to higher international oil prices as well as a weakening in the rand exchange rate.
“Since the beginning of the current fuel price review period (28 January 2011 to 24 February 2011), Brent crude oil prices increased by $14.0 per barrel (R101.00 per barrel at an exchange rate of US dollar1=R7.23) from $96 per barrel to $110.0 per barrel,” the department said in a statement.
“This increase in international crude oil prices mainly culminates from the current political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, which has a severe impact on crude oil supplies. International refined petroleum product prices followed the crude oil price trend,” the department added.
“However, the product prices of diesel and illuminating paraffin increased substantially more than that of petrol (between 20 and 30 RSA cents/litre) due to the high demand for heating fuels in America and Europe and therefore the substantial higher anticipated increases in the prices of diesel and illuminating paraffin compared to that of petrol,” the department said.
“In addition to the increases realised in international crude oil and petroleum product prices, The value of the rand deteriorated sharply to the value of the US Dollar. In January 2011 the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate was US dollar=R6.89 and the average rand US Dollar exchange rate in February 2011 is US Dollar=R7.23. This weakening of the value of the rand against the US Dollar contributed to about 26 cents a litres in the anticipated fuel price increases,” the department added. - Justin Brown
