By Daanyaal Matthews
Commuters across the Republic can expect their wallets to be hit even harder at midnight as fuel prices are expected to increase. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has released the official fuel price adjustments for February 2024, indicating an increase for both petrol and diesel. Petrol prices will rise by 75 cents per litre, while diesel will go up by 70 to 73 cents per litre. Illumination Paraffin will also see a hike of 53 cents. These adjustments are scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, 7 February 2024.
Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Tuesday, Automobile Association’s Layton Beard says the increases have been tied to global phenomena.
“There are several factors; there are some important geopolitical developments taking place; we know the issues around the Red Sea and the Gulf areas that are putting pressure on international oil prices.”
The declining purchasing power of the rand has also played a role in South Africa having to pay more for less in the oil market.
While the Republic has little control over geopolitical meanderings, it does have control over fuel pricing within the nation, with fuel activists, such as the Automobile Association, calling for the government to re-evaluate the calculation of the floor price of fuel, but ‘stability’ within the market is nigh impossible with constant geopolitical turmoil.
“You’re never going to get a situation where you are paying the same for fuel month to month, but what we’d like to see is that the variance is lower and there is a better understanding of what the fuel pricing structure is.”
VOC
