Motorists can get ready to dig even deeper into their pockets, as another steep fuel price hike is on the cards for October. According to unaudited mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund, predictions point to an increase to petrol of around R1.20/litre and an increase to diesel by as much as around R2/litre. The Automobile Association’s Eleanor Mavimbela says the current predictions are largely driven by international oil prices.

“There’s definitely going to be an increase heading for October, with regards to fuel price increases. With unleaded petrol, we’re looking at an over R1 per litre increase. For diesel, we’re looking at over R2 a litre, which is quite steep for your diesel users.”

This paints a grim picture for embattled consumers, as they will continue to feel the pinch. Just two weeks ago, motorists faced record high fuel price surges. Mavimbela says this essentially means the cost of food and other items will rise in cost.

“If we get the increases we are predicting for next month, it means that we are going back to the high fuel prices that we saw last year, around July. That means for consumers we need to dig a little bit deeper. With everything going up around us, we need to dig even deeper. Even more so, it is worrying for diesel prices because diesel is an input cost. It affects quite a number of industries.”

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