Petrol price to drop first time in 6 months in July

The price of gasoline in South Africa will drop for the first time in sixth months in July, reducing some inflation pressure.

The price of a litre of 95-octane gasoline will decrease to R15.81 a litre in the economic hub of Gauteng from midnight on July 3, compared with R16.76 in June, the Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said Friday in an emailed statement. The wholesale price of diesel will fall by 0.75 rand and the cost of kerosene, used for cooking, and liquid petroleum gas will also be lower.

The new gasoline price will be lower than the level of July 2018, helping to stabilise inflation which was at 4.5% last month. Fuel prices in South Africa, an oil importer, are influenced by international crude costs and fluctuations in the rand.

© 2019 Bloomberg L.P.