AA: Bad news for diesel users in February
Motorists can expect a mixed bag when the fuel prices for February are announced by the Department of Mineral and Energy.
According to the Central Energy Fund’s mid-month data, some fuel prices could go up while others may go down.
The AA's Layton Beard says at the moment 95 Octane petrol shows a drop of about eight cents a litre at the beginning of February, while 93 Octane will rise by one cent a litre.
Diesel is predicted to climb by two cents while illuminating paraffin looks set for a hike of 13 cents per litre.
"For diesel users and also because diesel is used in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors this isn't great news," says Beard.
He adds: "It may certainly have a knock on effect on other prices so consumers who are already feeling the pitch will unfortunately feel that much more deflated because of these increases."
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The AA says that political tensions in the Middle East, one of the world's richest oil-producing regions, are likely to produce continued uncertainty which would feed into oil price movements.
"This is as a result of oil prices which have surged by nearly two dollars a gallon since late December and obviously the weakening rand," says Beard.
"Those two have combined to give us these increases we are predicting going into next month."