Cape Town - The petrol price will go up by 93c a litre next Wednesday, while diesel will cost 69c/l more.
The steep 8.4% increase that kicks in at midnight on September 5 is to partly to finance wage increases for pump attendants at
garages, the Department of Energy said on Friday.
The latest shock hike brings the price of 95 grade petrol in the inland commercial region
of Gauteng to R11.97/l and R11.62 at the coast.
The wholesale diesel
price will also go up by about 6.7% to R10.95/l.
This latest petrol increase is also the result of rising oil prices and the average
rand/dollar exchange rate, which weakened in the review period compared with the previous period. Oil prices have been pushed higher by supply issues and improved consumer confidence in the US.
The average rand/dollar exchange rate for the period July 27 to
August 30 was 8.2758 compared with 8.2657 during the previous period.
I-Net Bridge reports that the Minister of Energy on August 24 approved that the retail margin
on all grades of petrol be increased by 3.5c/l from 91.8c/l to 95.3c/l
with effect from September 5.
This increase‚ the department said‚ was necessary in order for
service station operators to finance the wage increases for service
station pump attendants and cashiers agreed upon at the Motor Industry
Bargaining Council in September 2010.
The increase to accommodate wage increases is
ring-fenced and should be excluded from determining rental fees between
service station operators and service station investors‚ the department
said.
Meanwhile, the single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin will increase by 97c/l to R8.34/l.
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