Should I fill up my fuel tank during lockdown?

Why is the fuel price dropping? 

There are multiple factors contributing to the decrease in global pricing of crude oil, first among these are the fact that there has been a decrease in demand. With most of the world having instructed their citizens to remain home, only the bare minimum vehicles are found on the roads and with little capacity to store the Brent crude, oil producers are desperate to sell as production continues albeit slowly. On average the world would have consumed 100 million barrels of oil a day, now through global oil demand is in freefall and has seen a reduction as much as 20 million barrels of oil per day. 

 

While this is one of the larger contributors to the reduction, the largest contributors are without a doubt the battle for market share in between oil production giants, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

 

The two countries have been putting pressure on one another by decreasing the prices for the opportunity to increase their market share across the world. With these two countries being some of the largest producers of Brent crude, the spat in between them has prompted other oil producers across the globe to reduce their prices to maintain their market shares resulting in the low prices experienced in the market as we speak. 

 

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Will the price change again? 

While for most people this price drop will bring much relief financially, this has had a negative effect on economies around the world and will make it even more difficult to restart some once the global state of emergency has been lifted. Locally citizens have seen a reduction in the price of petrol by R1.94 per litre and diesel by R1.40 for the month of April, despite the 25 cents a litre increase in levies. This has prompted some to go fill up their tanks but it was announced recently that the price will see a further reduction in the month of May, consumers can expect the price of petrol to reduce by R1.89 a litre and diesel by R1.17 a litre. 

 

With the decrease in demand for Brent crude around the world, it is speculated that these prices could stay intact for some time but as countries will start to resume normal economic function and demand for fuel increasing could prompt the prices to see a steady rise. Furthermore, it is unknown until when the market share battle in between Russia and Saudi Arabia will last and a truce could possibly see a spike in the price per barrel to make up for losses caused by the spat in between the two production giants.

 

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Should I fill up my tank?

 

While some South Africans opt for filling up to the brim each time they visit the pumps, others are more likely to only buy a little at a time. Filling up your fuel tank each time you purchase fuel is a good idea, one reason being that you will spend less time at the pumps and furthermore stop and start your engine less and while this seems like it might not make much of a difference, when you add up the wear and tear on your starter motor and the fuel used each time starting up your engine over the entire span of your vehicle's lifetime, you will be surprised.

 

South Africa is also slowly headed into winter causing the ambient air to cool down quite a lot in the early morning hours and that includes the air inside your fuel tank. This causes condensation which introduces water in your fuel tank, the water inside your tank will most likely end up oxidizing with the metal surfaces and cause your tank to rust which is not only dangerous to vehicle occupants but could introduce contaminants to your fuel and ultimately your engine. Some might argue that a full tank weighs a lot and that you are driving around with that weight for no reason and while it is true that there is an increase in weight, it accounts to as much as 5 per cent of the total weight of your vehicle. This means that the extra energy that will have to be used to propel your vehicle will be so small that it will unnoticeable in your fuel spend. 

 

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Conclusion

If you are one of those that fill up your tank in the month of April, don't despair as you would have already experienced a significant bang for your buck. For those contemplating to fill their tanks, I would recommend waiting until May as you would be paying almost R4.00 a litre less than you would have if you filled up before the lockdown. Now that you have a full tank, why not start the healthy habit of filling up each time you visit the pumps, not only will it save you time but also money over the long run and your car will love you for it.