Brace for another petrol price hike

The price of petrol will increase by between 25 cents and 29 cents a litre on Wednesday‚ the Department of Energy said on Monday.

Diesel will increase by 42c/l and illuminating paraffin by 39c/l‚ while LP gas will rise by 39c/kg. .

The department attributed the rise in the petrol price to the rand’s appreciation against the dollar during the period under review‚ an increase on average in the prices of petroleum prices in the international markets‚ and higher oil prices.

Oil prices rose by 12% since the beginning of September‚ mainly due to improved compliance on the production freeze by OPEC countries‚ and evidence that US drilling activity and production is not rising as was expected‚ the department said.

There was also evidence that stocks of crude oil in the US were falling faster than anticipated‚ it added.