The South African government has noted the recent surge in fuel prices and expects another increase next month.

South Africa’s currency exchange to the US dollar has fallen by more than one percent since May this year. Petrol went up by 26 cents a litre for 93 octane and by 23 cents for 95 octane. Diesel went up by 26 cents a litre.

In its Cabinet meeting notes, government said it was making an effort to alleviate the challenges faced by the poor.

“These cyclical currency changes, which result in price fluctuations, have impacted negatively on the consumers, particularly the poor. The rise in petrol prices directly affects transport costs, food prices - particularly the cost of staple food, and medicine. The Brent Crude Oil Dollar denominated price has been affecting the general prices of petrol, diesel and paraffin,” government said.

It reiterated that Treasury was reviewing the list of Value-Added Tax zero-rated items, which currently stood at 19 basic food items.

Government also highlighted that President Cyril Ramaphosa was leading a team of government and private-sector representatives to attract more foreign investment to grow the economy and create jobs, specifically for the unemployed youth.