Motorists set for another record fuel price drop
Motorists are set for more relief at the fuel pumps in May, according to the Automobile Association (AA).
The AA predicts that May will join April in setting back-to-back records for monthly fuel price drops – just as millions of South Africans return to work amid the easing of the lockdown regulations.
Petrol is set to drop by around R1.74 a litre, with diesel R1.56 cheaper and illuminating paraffin falling by a whopping R2.18.
All this would mean that the price of petrol has fallen by between R3.84 and R4.00 a litre since January. Diesel will also be around R3.49 a litre cheaper than it was five months ago.
The AA’s Layton Beard says against the backdrop of the international oil picture, even the disastrous performance of the rand versus the US dollar over April barely moved the needle on local fuel prices.
"The local currency's average value against the dollar plunged from R16.45 on 26 March to R18.45 on 28 April, with daily peaks in excess of R19 to the dollar."
“The rand has been pummelled by COVID-19 and the Moody's downgrade to junk status, and yet we are still able to predict record-territory fuel price drops. This goes to show just how severely the world oil price has collapsed."
The petrol price was last below R13 a litre in July 2017.
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