Fuel price to increase 5c/l

The price of 93 octane petrol will increase by five cents a litre and 95 octane will increase by seven c/l in Gauteng, the energy department said on Friday.

The different prices for 93 and 95 octanes were informed by cost of production, which was adjusted quarterly, and by local and international factors, Energy Minister Dikobe Ben Martins said in a statement.

The price of diesel with a sulphur content of 0.05 percent would decrease by 8.8 c/l and that with a sulphur content of 0.005 percent by 7.8 c/l.

The price of illuminating paraffin would decrease by between 34.5 and 49 c/l, while maximum retail price for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would decrease by 22 cents a kilogram.

"The decrease in the price of illuminating paraffin and LPG will benefit households that use these products, especially as winter approaches," Martins said.

The prices would be different in other fuel pricing zones, he said.

"The prices will be different due to the adjustment to the transportation costs."

The pricing schedule for the different zones would be published on April 1.

An inland fuel transport levy, which costs motorists an extra three c/l would be abolished from April 2. The incremental inland transport recovery system levy was included in the fuel price to recover the cost of transporting petroleum products by alternative modes of transport, other than the pipeline from Durban, to inland markets since 2008.

A new multi-product pipeline was completed in 2012, but due to a backlog of payment to oil companies, the levy could not yet be cancelled.

"The scrapping of the three cents per litre levy due to the commissioning of the multi-product pipeline has had a positive effect on the latest fuel price adjustments," Martins said.

- SAPA