Cape Town - On the eve of the New Year, the Department of Energy had some good news for consumers, announcing that there will be no change in the retail price of 93 (ULP and LRP) petrol in January and that the retail price of 95 (ULP and LRP) petrol will be going down by three cents per litre on January 6 2016.
The wholesale price of diesel 0.05% sulphur will go down by 76c/l and that of diesel 0.005% sulphur by 78c/l.
The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will go down by 63c per litre.
The minister of energy approved the adjustments to some of the pricing elements of the maximum retail price structure of liquefied petroleum gas (LPGAS) with an adjustment of 50.0c/l with effect from January 6 2016.
According to the department, the economic factors affecting the price determination for January included the average international product prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin which fell during the period under review.
The main reason for these fuel price adjustments is the weakening of the rand against the dollar despite the drop in the prices of all petroleum products during the period under review, the department said.
The Automobile Association (AA) warned on Wednesday that instability in institutions such as the National Treasury has negative implications on the economy which could lead to petrol price hikes.
"By now the government cannot be unaware of the economic implications of removing stability from institutions such as the Treasury," the AA said in a statement.