The retail price of petrol will increase by R1 a liter from Wednesday.
According to the delayed statement released by the Department of Energy, diesel will cost R1.24c more while illuminating paraffin goes up by R1.39c.
The statement says the increases are mainly due to the international factors such as the weaker Rand and higher crude oil prices.
Government has attributed higher oil prices on the unwillingness by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase their production outputs.
The looming sanctions against Iran oil exports by the United States have also added more pressure on the crude oil prices. The rand depreciated, on average from R13.90 to R14.90 to the US dollar during the period under review.
Economist Azar Jammine says consumers’ spending power will be affected.
“Bearing in mind that consumers on average spend under 5% on petrol, this will erode their disposable income on a month-on-month basis by around 0.6%, in other words, they will have a R6 less for every R1000 spends after this increase,” says Jammine.
