Bottoms up

MOTORING NEWS - We all need to support our local hospitality industry, but if you want to drink more than one cold one, do it at home. It's cheaper, and considering the nasty virus doing the rounds, safer on many levels.

According to the Automobile Association (AA), fuel first hit record highs in April when 95 ULP in Gauteng was priced at R17,32 a litre, and R16,61 at the coast. New record highs were recorded in July with the price pegged at R17,39 inland, and R16,67 at the coast.

The association says the last time fuel was priced above R17 per litre was in October/November 2018 when the price reached R17,08 for 95 ULP in Gauteng. In the same months a litre of fuel was priced at R16,49 at the coast, the priciest it had ever been up till then.

However, these figures pale against the R18,30 per litre (Gauteng) and R17,58 per litre (coast) which came into effect in August.

Petrol 95 ULP is now 23,15% more expensive than it was in January in Gauteng, and 24,15% more expensive at the coast. Diesel is between 20,31% and 21,13% more expensive in Gauteng and the coast compared to January numbers.

The AA says the biggest shock is the steep increases in the price of illuminating paraffin. A litre of paraffin in Gauteng is now 30,31% more expensive than it was in January and 33,84% more expensive at the coast than at the beginning of the year.

Given the fluidity of the two key factors that influence the local fuel price - the rand/US dollar exchange rate and international petroleum product prices - the AA says it's impossible to forecast the trajectory of future fuel price movements in the coming months.