The Road Freight Association (RFA) said it was cautiously optimistic about the outlook for consumers following the announcement of significant fuel price cuts that take effect at midnight on Tuesday (January 6).
The association’s chief executive, Gavin Kelly, said the positive changes in fuel prices meant that “good things” lay ahead for consumers in the coming weeks.
“The RFA is encouraged by the recently announced decreases in the basic fuel prices, and remains cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue into the year.”
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced that diesel prices would drop significantly on Wednesday, with 0.05% sulphur diesel decreasing by 137 cents a litre and 0.005% sulphur diesel falling by 150 cents a litre.
Petrol prices will also ease, with 93 octane down by 62 cents a litre and 95 octane by 66 cents a litre. The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin drops 110 cents a litre, while the single maximum national retail price declines by 148 cents a litre.
“It must always be foremost in the minds of consumers that this drop – and all decreases or increases – in the fuel price is fundamentally driven by external international factors such as the basic price of fuel as traded globally, and secondly, the value of the rand against the US dollar,” said Kelly.
He said consumers should start to feel the impact within a couple of weeks as current retail stocks were depleted, but this depended on the approach retailers took to the fuel price cuts.
“The RFA notes that smaller operators (transporters) who do not have long-term contracts that may offer some cushioning effect to the direct fuel input costs will be able to breathe easier.
“Pump-price fuel will be cheaper and that will allow for some financial easing, perhaps even allow for building of reserves for fuel purchase when the fuel price heads north once again.”
Kelly said the RFA hoped that a cycle of fuel price easing would be the trend in 2026, allowing for transporters to have some breathing space and for macro financial pressures, such as the repo rate and lending rates, to ease.
