South African motorists can expect more pain at the petrol pumps next Wednesday as the price of Brent oil topped $80 a barrel amid an energy crunch and the rand again breached R15.00 to the US dollar this morning on China worries.
Analysts, including Goldman Sachs and Nomura lowered their Chinese GDP estimates for 2021 by around 0.5% as the energy crisis weighs on China’s production outlook.
Bloomberg reports oil has soared this year as the roll-out of vaccines to combat the pandemic aids energy demand, while a dramatic surge in natural gas stoked bets that crude will benefit from spill-over demand as users seek alternatives.
Stoking inflation fears, local petrol prices hit record highs last month, with the price of inland 95-octane petrol reaching R18.30 a litre. Fuel prices increased by 4.9% between July and August and by 19.6% over the last 12 months.
Elsewhere in the UK, the government has officially put the military on standby in its latest emergency measure to control supply chain ructions that have drained petrol pumps, emptied some supermarket shelves and disrupted business, reports Bloomberg.
While the country battles with a labour and fuel shortage that’s grinding the country to a halt, the government and industry are playing the blame game and Boris Johnson seems to be losing the argument and his political grip.
But there’s more pain and chaos on the horizon, as analysts predict an uptick in demand for fuel oil of more than 0.16 million barrels a day over the UK winter.
It’s time to fasten the seatbelts.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Blame me, not Mr Atul: Ronica Ragavan’s astonishing legal intervention to shield her Gupta boss – Daily Maverick
South Africa can’t afford universal grant says business body – BusinessTech
UK to use SA data and input when reviewing status on Covid-19 travel red list – News24
Global Business
Ford announces $11.4bn investment in electric vehicle plants – BBC
Netflix reveals how many accounts are actually watching its top titles – The Verge
Crypto exchange pays $24 million in fees for $100,000 deposit – Bloomberg
Markets
Dollar, yen up as US bond yields hit three-month high – Investing.com
Monday’s meme-stock action was all about renewable energy and faded smiles – Yahoo Finance
Unregulated crypto markets will ‘not end well’, SEC chair says – Bloomberg
Opinion/In-depth
ANC manifesto launch: Ramaphosa admits mistakes, says party will do better – Daily Maverick
ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK: DiDi ride-hailing making inroads in SA market – TimesLive
Annoyed SAs speak: Rob Hersov’s outspoken views evoke passionate responses – Biznews
Video
Aerial shots of cars queueing for petrol over shortage fears in UK – ITN
WATCH | Apple, Tesla suppliers halt output due to China power crunch – Fin24
China cracks down on cryptocurrency, declares all transactions illegal – Cover Media
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