Motorists will need to fork out an additional 74c/l from tomorrow, as a rising oil price offset a stronger rand against the dollar last month.

The inland price for a litre of 95 octane unleaded petrol will rise 5% to R14.82 a litre, and diesel almost 7% to R14.05, the Central Energy Fund said yesterday.

At this price, petrol is 7.7% more expensive than it was in March 2018,
and 9.5% higher than the price in March 2017.

During the period under review (February 1 to February 28), the rand had averaged R13.8038/$, about 1% stronger than the prior period.

The price of Brent crude, however, rose 8.66% in February, as markets watched for the effects of production cuts in 2019 year by oil cartel Opec.

Record petroleum production in the US continues to put a lid on oil prices, with the Automobile Association saying ahead of yesterday's release that this may bring some relief for motorists.

"In the medium term, we expect world supply will slightly outstrip demand as the US continues to make impressive progress with its domestic oil production," the association said.

"However, petroleum prices remain vulnerable to geopolitical shocks and we cannot rule out further price hikes in the first half of 2019," the association added. - BusinessLIVE