South African motorists are expected to encounter a setback at the end of July, as the petrol price is likely to increase by seven cents to the litre.
Diesel is expected to go up by 22 cents, while the price for illuminating paraffin will increase by 19 cents in August.
The Automobile Association (AA) said its findings were made on the back of higher international fuel prices and a weakening rand.
“There was a slight decrease in the international petrol price, but diesel and paraffin are up. Meanwhile, the rand’s slip against the US dollar added around 17 cents a litre to fuel prices across the board,” said the AA on Monday.
“As a result, our mid-month prediction is that the petrol price is set to increase by up to seven cents a litre based on the current data, with diesel up 22 cents, and illuminating paraffin 19 cents higher,” added the AA.
The association said this was not a new trend for this time of the year, adding that a general increase was expected across the board in July. It is a setback though, given some of the gains that were made in recent months.
“As we have previously noted, the fuel price relief of recent months is unlikely to be sustained, and motorists should be prepared to pay more at month-end.”