Double whammy will see petrol price soar by R1.18 a litre in April, says AA

Fresh off substantial fuel price hikes in March, South Africans should brace themselves for a double whammy in April - with hefty increases in the basic fuel price on top of the phasing in of new levies on April 1.

The Automobile Association (AA), commenting on unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund, said the projected basic fuel price increase is expected to be around 98c for petrol, 70c for diesel and 63c for illuminating paraffin.

But that's not all ... increases to the fuel levies announced in February's budget will push the prices at the pumps even higher when they come into effect on April 1.

"With the addition of the increases to the levies, our outlook for April sees petrol increasing by R1.18 a litre and diesel by 90c. There are no levies added to illuminating paraffin," says the AA.

The AA says movements in the exchange rate have contributed 23c-26c of this increase, with the balance coming from changes in international product prices. It notes that the CEF's analysis shows that international oil prices contributed 73c a litre to the rise in the price of petrol.

"It is difficult to reconcile that figure with the general stability shown by the daily prices since the start of March," the AA said. "We hope that data will provide more clarity as the month unfolds."

"This will add 20c a litre to the April increase – 15c for the fuel levy and 5c for the RAF levy."

The AA says this will push the proportion of taxes and levies on the fuel price to around 38% of the cost per litre in the case of 93-octane unleaded petrol.

"When fuel taxes were proposed as a roads-funding mechanism, the government resisted, claiming they were anti-poor. But the fuel levy has nonetheless risen by nearly 22% over the past three years. Given what is emerging at the Zondo inquiry into state capture, motorists are justified in asking what this money is being spent on," the AA said.