The mid-month projections from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) suggests there will be a petrol price increase in South Africa in May 2024.
However, while in recent days the data has improved, the rand has weakened against the dollar and the oil price continues to increase.
A combination of an increase in the brent crude oil price and a weakening of the rand against the dollar spells trouble for petrol prices in particular.
In contrast, the current situation suggests there could be better news for diesel drivers next month.
The news comes on the back of price increases for both petrol and diesel earlier this month, as reported by The South African website.
Below, the latest projections as received by The South African website from the CEF, effective Tuesday, 16 April 2024.
| FUEL | PRICE CHANGE | |
| Petrol 93 | increase of 33 cents | |
| Petrol 95 | increase of 34 cents | |
| Diesel 0.05% | decrease of 24 cents | |
| Diesel 0.005% | decrease of 29 cents | |
| Illuminating Paraffin | decrease of 16 cents |
If these market conditions were to remain consistent for the remainder of the month – an unlikely scenario with the rand/dollar exchange rate ever fluctuating and the oil price changing – an increase of 33 cents is expected for petrol 93 octane motorists and an increase of 34 cents for 95 users.
Meanwhile, diesel motorists would see between a 24 to 29 cents per litre decrease.