Fuel prices hit record high as petrol jumps by more than R3 a litre

The latest fuel price increase is expected to put further pressure on household budgets, with transport costs potentially rising to as much as 14% of take-home pay.

Fuel prices are spiking up again – this time to a record high.

The Mineral Resources and Petroleum Department says the adjustment is due to the higher oil price on average during the period under review.

The department’s Robert Maake says the increase will take effect at midnight on Wednesday.

“Petrol 93 octane will increase by R3.12 per litre, and 95 octane will increase by R3.33 a litre. Diesel will increase by R2.84 and R3.24 per litre.”

Meanwhile, DebtBusters executive head Benat Sager says transport costs already take up a significant portion of many South Africans’ salaries.

“What we find at DebtBusters is people normally end up spending somewhere between eight to 10% of their take-home on transport,” Sager says.

Sager explains that this includes people who rely on public transport as well as motorists who spend their income on petrol and other transport costs.

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However, with fuel prices having risen sharply in recent months, Sager expects that percentage to climb.

“So given the significance of the increases, I think that number is going to increase more from 10% to more like 12 to 14% of take-home pay if, of course, we carry on spending the same amount of money,” he said.

Sager warned that the impact will be even greater when combined with higher interest rates, which are also eating into household budgets.

“I think the added impact of those will be three or four percentage points of more take-home pay that people need to commit to, whether it's the transport or paying for their home or paying for their vehicle or whatever it might be,” he said.

With households facing mounting financial pressure, Sager warned that consumers may need to reassess their spending priorities and identify areas to cut back.

“I think we would have to look at and completely reprioritise, and I would suggest starting with the subscriptions,” he advised.

He said consumers should also examine everyday expenses that can easily be overlooked, including banking fees, cellphone data, airtime and online subscriptions.

“Sometimes you can find a little bit of money in that by scaling back on those things for a few months, potentially,” Sager said.

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