The price of petrol will push to a record high from midnight on Tuesday‚ with the Central Energy Fund (CEF) announcing that under-recovery in August would prompt fuel increases ranging from 99c to R1.79.

Amid some speculation‚ the CEF has not passed on the increases from September’s fuel price intervention‚ when price rises were capped at 5c a litre in a bid to take some pressure off motorists.

The price of unleaded 93 petrol will therefore rise 99c‚ unleaded 95 R1 and diesel R1.24. Illuminating paraffin will cost an additional R1.04 and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) R1.79.

The Automobile Association has warned that the increases — a record when not factoring in months when new taxes took effect — will be “catastrophic” for motorists.

The Department of Energy intervened in August’s increase by diverting funds from the state levy‚ but warned that it would be unable to continue with such interventions.

During the period‚ the rand depreciated against the dollar to an average of R14.7899 compared to the previous month’s R13.9430.