Fuel price drop

Consumers got some relief when the fuel price came down this week.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced a decrease in prices for all grades of fuel for July.

This is the second month in succession that a fuel price decrease has been implemented.The adjusted prices took effect from Wednesday, July 3.

The fuel prices for July are adjusted as follows:

Petrol 93 (ULP and LRP): R1.05 decrease.

Petrol 95 (ULP and LRP): 99c decrease.

Diesel (0.05% sulphur): 30c decrease.

Diesel (0.005% sulphur): 24c decrease.

Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale): 18c decrease.

Single Maximum National Retail Price for illuminating Paraffin: 24c decrease.

Maximum LP Gas Retail Price: 22c decrease

In a statement, the department attributed the decrease in prices to several factors in the international market.

“The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from 82.98 US Dollars (USD) to 82.24 USD per barrel, during the period under review. The main contributing factors are the increased production by the US and other non-OPEC countries amid slow economic growth globally.

“The average international product prices of petrol decreased following the lower Brent Crude oil prices during the period under review. The movement in product prices has led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Price (BFP) of petrol by 93.66 - 99.65 c/l, diesel by 17.55 – 23.80 c/l and illuminating paraffin by 16.87 cents per litre.”

Furthermore, the Rand’s strength against the dollar is touted to have also influenced prices. The Rand appreciated slightly, on average, against the US Dollar (from 18.46 to 18.44 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of all products by about 1.50 cents per litre on all products, the department added.