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South Africa Gasoline Price to Rise for First Time in Six Months - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- South African gasoline prices will increase for the first time in six months as rising international oil prices offset the impact of a stronger rand.
The retail cost of 95-octane gasoline in Gauteng, the country’s economic hub, will advance 1.2% to 21.30 rand ($1.21) per liter from Nov. 6, South Africa’s Central Energy Fund said in an emailed statement Monday. Diesel will climb for the first time in seven months, with the wholesale price rising 1.1%.
Higher international oil prices drove the increase, according to the CEF. Gasoline and diesel prices are still lower than a year earlier, which means the move won’t contribute to a higher annual inflation rate in November. Fuel directly accounts for almost 5% of South Africa’s inflation basket.
The government has started discussions about “reducing administered prices” that include general fuel and Road Accident Fund levies, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe said last month. The charges account for almost a third of the current retail price of a liter of gasoline and are adjusted only once a year when the finance minister presents the budget in February.
--With assistance from Paul Burkhardt.
