Second shock as petrol goes up again

The price of petrol will rise for the second time this year when it goes up 32c a litre on the first Wednesday in February.

The energy department said on Friday the price of a litre of 95 octane petrol in Gauteng would go up from R10.61 to R10.95 a litre on February 2, a rise of 3.2 percent.

The price of diesel with 0.05 percent sulphur content will go down by one cent, that of diesel with 0.005 percent sulphur content will drop by two cents a litre.

The wholesale price of Illuminating paraffin will go down three cents a litre and the single maximum national retail price will drop by four cents a litre.

The maximum retail price for LP gas will go up by 50 cents a litre.

South Africa is a net importer of oil and adjusts its fuel price each month to account for changes in the dollar/rand exchange rate, the international oil price and government levies.

During the period under review, the department said, the average international product prices of petrol, diesel, and illuminating paraffin increased and the average rand/dollar exchange rate strengthened. - Reuters