With the public gearing up for the festive season, consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the price of all grades of petrol has increased by 17 cents a litre.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) announced the price increase of 93 (ULP & LRP) and 95 (ULP & LRP) by 17 cents on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday, a litre of 95 petrol now costs R21.47 in Gauteng from the R21.30 seen in November.
In the coast, a litre of 95 petrol now cots R20.68 from R20.51 seen in November.
Diesel (0.05% sulphur) has increased by 54.88 cents per litre while the price of Diesel (0.005% sulphur) has increased by 55.88 cents per litre.
The price of Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale) has risen by 48.88 cents per litre and the Single Maximum National Retail Price for illuminating paraffin (SMNRP) has increased by 66 cents per litre. Meanwhile, the maximum LPGas retail price has increased by R1.72.
The department said the average Brent Crude oil price decreased from 73.28 US Dollars (USD) to 72.70 USD during the period under review.
“The main contributing factors are the OPEC+ decision not to increase production in December and increased production from non-OPEC countries amid stagnant economic growth globally,” said the department.
In a statement, the department added that the average international product prices of petrol were affected by lower demand, a switch to cheaper winter gasoline as well as higher inventories.
“On the other hand, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased because of higher seasonal demand given the upcoming winter season in the Northern Hemisphere. LPG prices increased due to the increase in the prices of propane and butane. These factors led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 19.69 c/l, 23.83 c/l and 16.86 c/l, respectively.”
“The Rand depreciated on average, against the US Dollar (from 17.53 to 17.93 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 22.35 cents a litre, 23.74 cents a litre and 23.62 cents a litre, respectively.” -SAnews.gov.za
