Sharp jump in fuel price
Bad news for motorists and consumers as the Department of Energy announces a sharp jump in the price of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin.
The price of petrol will rise by 67c a litre from Wednesday, while diesel will be 44c a litre more expensive.
The price of illuminating paraffin will rise by 49c a litre.
Read: Sharp fuel price hike on the cards
In a statement, the department says this is due to the to the rand/US dollar exchange rate, the price of oil and wage increase for forecourt staff.
"The main contributing factors were the increase in the crude oil prices and the weaker rand, massive floods caused by the storm which forced several refineries to close along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, caused large-scale flooding and forced closure of Houston port and several refineries. These resulted in the supply shortage in the market which led to higher prices of petroleum products," the department says.
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The Minister of Energy Mmamoloko Kubayi has also approved an increase in the retail margin of petrol of 4.6 c per litre to cater for the salary increase of 8.0% for pump attendants and 7.0% for cashiers and 7.5% for other administration staff in line with the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) agreement.