The AA has confirmed the petrol price changes for February 2021 and SA motorists are in for substantial hikes. Here's what you need to know.

The Automobile Association (AA) has blamed the slow oil price and Rand/Dollar vulnerability for the sharp increase in the price of petrol, diesel and paraffin.

Set to come into affect in the first week of February 2021, petrol is expect to rise by up to 82 cents a litre, diesel by 59 cents and illuminating paraffin by 60 cents.

"Unfortunately our mid-month concerns over the advancing oil price have been borne out in practice. There has been a slow, but steady, rise in the price of oil which is likely to cause ongoing pain at the pumps. Almost all of the fuel price increases reflected by this month's data are attributable to the stronger oil price, and the average Rand/US dollar exchange rate has remained generally flat for the month, despite some large daily swings."

Despite theRand dropping to an all-time low of over R19 to the dollar last April and the currency has since appreciating to approximately its pre-COVID-19 level, the changes in the oil price have offset this."The record low exchange rate fortunately went hand-in-hand with record low oil prices, so the impact went largely unnoticed as fuel prices plunged. But economic or policy shocks which weigh on the Rand are likely to have a more significant effect on the fuel price now that international oil prices have rebounded," the Association concludes.

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