The Automobile Association predicts a decrease of between 9 and 19 cents a litre for petrol, 55 cents a litre for diesel, and 68 cents for illuminating paraffin on the back of the effect of the coronavirus on global trade.
The petrol price adjustment is expected to be announced soon- with the price change taking effect at midnight on Tuesday.
There are concerns that the coronavirus outbreak – centered on Wuhan Province in China – could further damage an already fragile global economy – leading to a decrease in demand for oil.
The death toll from the outbreak stands at over 2 800 people with around 83 000 infections.
AA spokesperson Layton Beard, however, says the depreciation of the Rand could impact and limit the decrease.
He says: “International petroleum prices this week suffered one of their steepest plunges in recent years as coronavirus fears impacted global economic activity. We are still very concerned about the depreciation of the rand against the US dollar and it’s something we will keep an eye on going into the new month if the situation persists and oil doesn’t continue retreating then there could be bad news for fuel users going into April.”
