Here we go again and this is not an early April fools joke! Following on from the fuel prices increases last month by 61 cents a litre, there will be another increase in fuel prices on April 2 according to the Department of Minerals and Energy. The retail price of petrol will go up by between 66 and 68 cents a litre. While the wholesale price of diesel 0.005% sulphur will increase by 130 cents a litre. The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will increase by 118 cents a litre, while the single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin will increase by 157 cents a litre.

This means that, a litre of petrol will now be costing almost R9 (R8.91) in Gauteng whilst it will cost about R8.67 at the coast. The increase in the price of paraffin is set to affect consumers in South Africa who rely on paraffin for cooking and lighting as an alternative to using electricity. But there is not much that can be done at this moment in time with regards to the increasing prices as the world oil prices continue to rise and the Rand continues to soften against most major currencies. When the price of fuel goes up, the tendency is that the price of everything else will go up thus further fueling the rise of inflation which currently stands at 9.4%.

With the price of electricity going up on April 1 and fuel going up the following day, what a way to start the month of April. And not to forget that there could be an interest rate hike come the 9th and 10th of April.

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