Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz head of economic and agribusiness intelligence, welcomed the decline, saying it would bring relief to farmers who were currently harvesting their crops in the summer rainfall areas, and to those in the winter rainfall areas that were preparing to plant.
He expected prices to increase again by May due to the recent cabinet reshuffle, which has caused the rand to weaken against the US dollar.
“The drop in fuel prices was caused by the strengthening of the rand and an increase in global oil stocks, primarily due to US shale gas production. The rand has, however, fallen sharply against the US dollar since the cabinet reshuffle, and Brent crude prices are also expected to recover due to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ decision to cut their production of crude oil with 1,8 million barrels per day.”
