Fuel prices set to soar

APRIL: OIL SURGE AND RAND WEAKENS AS MIDDLE EAST CRISIS DEEPENS >>> Current 'massive' under-recovery in price can worsen.

- Suren Naidoo

WAR ZONE. Smoke rises after an explosion in Tehran, Iran. Closer to home, SA's April fuel prices could jump by as much as R2 to R4 a litre.

(Picture: Bloomberg)

South Africans need to brace for a major shock as April fuel prices could jump by as much as R2 to R4, a litre, following the spike in global oil and diesel prices and the fall in the rand.

Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings warned on Tuesday that “the daily under-recovery on SA's petrol has jumped to 185¢/l, while the daily under-recovery on the diesel price is now a massive 354c/l”. If things get worse, the hikes could be even higher.

This excludes the increases in the fuel levy, Road Accident Fund levy, and carbon taxes announced in last week's budget, which are set to come into effect on 1 April. (Government may decide to cancel these increases, or come up with emergency relief measures in the wake of the crisis, as it did during Covid in 2020).