Since 2017 was a year that was filled with all sorts of surprises for South Africans, along with negative news about the country’s economy, having some good news in 2018 is a welcome relief.
According to the Automobile Association (AA) fuel prices in South Africa are set to decrease even further at the end of January 2018.
“The current data predicts a decrease in petrol of nearly 41 cents a litre, while diesel should be down by 23c and illuminating paraffin dropping 26c,” the AA said in a statement.
Fuel prices are adjusted monthly and are determined by international and domestic factors. The Rand/US Dollar exchange rate has brought some welcome stability. The election of Cyril Ramaphosa as President of the African National Congress (ANC), the governing party, contributed a lot towards improving investor confidence in South Africa, which saw the Rand/US Dollar exchange becoming more stable. This has had a positive effect on the fuel price.
Motorists can expect to pay R14.42 per litre inland, while the coastal price per litre is expected to drop to R13.93.
The fuel price drop is a welcome relief to motorists after five consecutive months of increases to the end of 2017. In a year when South Africans had to face the disappointing news of various downgrades by ratings agencies, meaning that the economic outlook is very bleak, the fuel price drop is set to help improve the financial outlook for many households.
The strong rand has outweighed a sharp rise in the Brent crude oil price, leading to the fuel price drop.
“In the short term we start the year with a drop in January 2018 and likely further fuel price declines in February, given the recent rand appreciation.”
