South African motorists have been taking a hammering of late when it comes to the petrol price and the situation could get worse next month.

This as the Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa has provided its projections on petrol and diesel prices for the beginning of April 2022, following the mid-March report from the Central Energy Fund (CEF).

“Based on the current data, 95 octane petrol is set to increase by R2.15/l, 93 octane is expected to climb by R2.07/l, diesel by between R2.94/l and R3.08/l and illuminating paraffin by R2.51/l,” the AA noted in media alert sent to Hypertext.

It therefore means prices for petrol could reach as high as R24 per litre, while diesel may hit R23.60 per litre.

If the projection comes to fruition, it is yet another month where motorists have had to suffer, with it potentially being the steepest increase to the petrol price in SA’s history. The AA has, however, noted that these projections are based on mid-month reports, so hopefully the outlook can change over the next two weeks.

As for why this sharp increase is anticipated, the Association noted that the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine is a major factor.

“The main driver behind the increases is the movement in international oil prices which have soared to record levels in recent weeks because of the conflict in Ukraine and concerns over Russian oil supplies. Russia is the third top producer of crude oil and supply worries are seen in increased oil prices,” it explains.

“Based on the current data, the increase to oil prices is contributing 98% to the predicted price hikes, with the Rand – which stabilised around R15.11 to the US dollar, contributing the other two percent. Effectively, though, the Rand’s value against the US dollar is having a nominal impact on the price of fuel locally,” the AA concluded.

It therefore looks like local motorists will need to gird themselves for the coming month.

[Image – Photo by Jakob Rosen on Unsplash]