There could be some relief for motorists as the Automobile Association (AA) has predicted a substantial decrease in petrol and diesel prices at the beginning of July.

The AA said retreating oil prices have painted a rosier picture for SA fuel users than has been the case for much of 2019. The AA said this was according to the unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund.

"At this stage of the month, we are predicting a cut of 91c a litre in the petrol price, 70c in  the diesel price, and 62c for illuminating paraffin," the AA said.

It said crude oil laboured above $70/barrel for large portions of April and May, as the tug-of-war continued between the Opec countries, which favour ongoing output restrictions, and the US, where production is steaming ahead.

But there had been a drop in the price of oil since the end of May, with the commodity now trading around $61/barrel.

The AA said although the oil price had gone down, South Africans were not getting full value because of the rand's instability in the wake of the ANC top leadership trading jibes over the future of the Reserve Bank.

It said that if stability returns to the rand and oil settles at its lower level, there might yet be more good news.