When oil climbs, South Africans feel it twice: first at the pump, then everywhere else. In this episode of Making Sense, Gareth Edwards and Francis Herd unpack why an oil price of $83.44 is not just a global market update, but a local cost of living warning with a short fuse.
They explain the lag that catches households off guard: fuel prices are calculated using monthly averages, meaning today’s oil shock often becomes next month’s petrol reality. Add a weaker rand and a stronger dollar, and the import bill gets heavier, fast.
The conversation moves from the obvious impact on motorists to the quieter knock on effect: diesel as the fuel of industry, transport costs feeding into food prices, and the inflation risk that can keep interest rates higher for longer.
The number is the headline. The question is what comes next. #eNCA
