The latest petrol price predictions foretell an upsetting price hike this August

“Oof” just about sums up the latest fuel price snapshot from the Central Energy Fund (CEF). While we’ll only get official confirmation of the fuel price adjustments taking place in August next week, there’s a good chance things will only get worse from here. As it stands on the last day of the month, only petrol prices are due a cut.

And what a minor cut it is, with the latest snapshot (captured 30 July) predicting a measly 5c/l decrease. With the way the trend is shifting, there’s a good chance petrol drivers will end up paying more at the pumps than they currently do. As for the rest, their conclusion is seemingly foregone, with a nearly R2/l increase on the cards.

It could get worse…

See, until the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) officially confirm the adjustments for August, it’s all speculation. The CEF, in conjunction with the DMPR, tracks the economic factors that influence the price of fuel locally. It uses this data to publish daily snapshots, predicting the following month’s adjustments.

That means that things could go from bad to worse by the time Wednesday 5 August rolls around. That’s typically when the DMPR officially updates the pumps — right at midnight. That still leaves some time for the situation to brighten or, more likely, darken. Something tells us petrol drivers aren’t getting away with a decrease this August.

It’s quite a departure from the earliest predictions at the beginning of July, which foresaw a R3/l cut for diesel, while petrol expected a R2.25/l drop. Since then, however, tensions have continued to boil over, influencing South Africa’s fuel market greatly as oil reserves dry up and send the price shooting up — hovering around $88 per barrel. The Rand, too, has taken a bit of a beating, also contributing to the deteriorating fuel prices.