Motorists who drive petrol-fuelled cars will have to pay 1c more a litre from midnight on Wednesday, when the price of both grades of unleaded 93 and 95 octane will hit a new record high. This was due to a slight under-recovery during the period under review, which saw rand depreciation, but declining international fuel prices, the Central Energy Fund said on Monday. The rand weakened to an average of…

Cheaper international oil prices have slammed the brakes on significant increases in fuel prices for August. The Department of Energy announced on Monday that the price of both grades of petrol would increase by 1c a litre from Wednesday. Diesel will cost 4c a litre less. The slight hike will take the per litre price of 95 octane unleaded petrol to R15.54 on the coast and R16.03 inland respectively. Illuminating…

However, relief to consumers could come in the form of more items that are free of VAT. The ANC, DA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) have all made calls for changes to the fuel price. IFP MP and national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the party would like the government to cut the petrol price by R5.30 a litre by removing both the fuel levy, which…

Imagine a world without OPEC. This is what the sponsors of legislation introduced in both houses of Congress seem to want. Versions of the "No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act", or the NOPEC bill, are working their way through the Senate and the House of Representatives, and are likely to find much more support from the White House than they have in the past – Presidents George Bush and…

Sasol Mining is SA’s third largest coal producer, producing 40-million tonnes of coal annually. Apart from its chemical products, the CTL plant produces, on average, 60-million barrels of liquid fuel for Sasol to sell into the South African market each year. But there are a lot of reasons why Sasol would not replace the plant, Cornell tells Business Day. "The basic business case is challenged, in terms of making a…

The fuel hike and rand weakness will likely drive up June inflation; however, the Reserve Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold, say economists. In separate market updates, economists have shared their insights on economic data to be released in the coming week. May’s retail sales and June’s consumer inflation data will be released by Statistics South Africa on Wednesday, and on Thursday the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy…

SA has raised its concern with the US government about possible duties on vehicle and vehicle component imports, pointing out that their imposition on South African exports would significantly erode the benefit the country is meant to enjoy under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). Following its decision to impose import duties on steel (25%) and aluminium (10%), the US decided to investigate whether it should do likewise with…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has given ministers in the economic cluster a two-week deadline to come up with measures to ease the burden of high fuel prices and the VAT hike on already struggling consumers. However he was careful not to raise hopes of a quick solution, indicating that government’s options are limited. “We know this matter is urgent and I wanted it to be attended to as quickly as possible……

South African consumers face more pain from potential global trade wars and fuel increases, global payments company Mastercard said on Tuesday. The retail sector has been flailing in recent months, with consumers feeling the strain of VAT increases and three consecutive months of fuel price increases. Consumer spending accounts for more than 60% of GDP. The economy is still reeling from a weak first quarter in which the sector contributed…

Last week President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that government was currently looking at ways to soften the blow of the recent fuel price increases. With promises that new measures would introduced within the next six weeks, Ramaphosa may have a difficult task in choosing exactly where the money will be coming from in a budget that is already taking serious strain. According to Dave Mohr and Izak Odendaal, strategists at Old…