South Africans are still on track for significant petrol and diesel price cuts in June.
As IOL reported last week, a substantial over-recovery has developed for both fuel types and this looks set to translate into savings at the pumps from next month.
According to the Automobile Association (AA), the latest available data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) is pointing to price decreases of around 63 cents for 93 Unleaded petrol and 61 cents for 95 Unleaded, while diesel looks likely to drop by around 74 cents and illuminating paraffin by 69 cents.
However, should the current rand and oil price scenarios play out until the end of this month, that over recovery stands to grow and a petrol price decrease of around R1 per litre is certainly plausible.
That would see the price of 95 Unleaded petrol falling to about R23.70 per litre, while 93 Unleaded would settle around the R24.15 mark. Click here to view the current fuel prices.
“The expectant decreases are good news for consumers who have been battered and bruised by these prices in the past couple of months,” the AA said.
“While fuel is still more expensive now than it was at the beginning of the year, these forecast decreases do offer some relief."
Petrol has increased by nearly R3 per litre since January, with 95 Unleaded having climbed from R21.77 to R24.70 at the coast.
While the current mid-month figures appear promising, the picture could still change before the actual June fuel price adjustments are announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy at the end of this month.
Fuel price relief is directly dependent on a stronger rand and lower international oil prices.
At the time of writing on May 16, the rand was trading at R18.21, while the price of Brent Crude oil was hovering around $82.75 (R1,506) per barrel. This becomes more meaningful when you consider that last month the local currency averaged R18.90 to the US dollar while oil averaged $84.22 (R1,591).
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IOL Motoring