The South African Institute for Race Relations has warned that if the Rand and oil prices remain at their current levels motorists could expect a fuel price hike of 41c/litre in April.
On top of that the 30 cents increase in the fuel levy announced by the finance minister in his recent budget speech could see motorists paying between 70c/litre and 80c/litre more for fuel.
IRR Chief Economist Ian Cruickshanks said in a statement that such an increase would put further pressure on financially stressed households which are already dealing with the interest rate hike announced by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank in March.
Cruickshanks said increases in fuel prices and interest rates should be read together with anticipated increases in food prices.
He said the latest estimates from the South African Crop Estimates Committee suggested a maize harvest of just over 7 million tonnes this year – down from almost 10 million tonnes in 2015 - due to the lowest rainfall in growing areas for more than 100 years.
