The Automobile Association in South Africa says gains in international oil prices are being negated by the weakening rand.

The Association was commenting on unaudited mid-month data released by the Central Energy Fund (CEF).

“Petrol would have been set for a drop of between 30 to 37 cents a litre, but that has been erased by the weak rand,” the AA said.

“Instead, the current data shows that the price of 95 unleaded petrol is set to remain virtually unchanged while a slight decrease of seven cents a litre is predicted for 93 unleaded.”

Meanwhile, diesel consumers are in line for hefty price jumps of up to 50 cents a litre, with currency weakness accounting for around two-thirds of the hike. Illuminating paraffin shows a similar picture.

“There is little certainty on where the bottom of the oil price may be, nor on the outlook for the rand / dollar exchange rate,” the AA said. “Given the instability of the past two weeks, it is very difficult to forecast the movement of the fuel price by month end,” the Association concluded.