Fuel price increase to hit property in South Africa – and stop people going into the office: FNB

THE cumulative fuel price increase has added significantly to overall consumer price inflation, and a further increase in June will sustain this pressure, says John Loos, property sector strategist at FNB Commercial Property Finance.

While the Department of Energy has not announced the official petrol price for June 2022, data from the Central Energy Fund and the end of government interventions indicate the cost of petrol could increase by more than R4/litre. This would push the country’s petrol price above R25/litre in June for both grades.

For many consumers, fuel spending is difficult to avoid, meaning that many have to reprioritise their expenditures and likely reduce more non-essential spending items, as well as delay ‘postpone-able’ low-frequency purchases, Loos said.

“We believe that this impact could be felt more on larger super-regional and regional shopping centres, which are more significantly focused on such purchases, including entertainment, eating out and clothing and