Thanks to cooling brent crude prices, both grades of petrol are down by R1.32, diesel 0.05% Sulphur will cost 88 cents less while the price of diesel 0.005% Sulphur will decrease by 91 cents. Wholesale illuminating paraffin will cost R1.44 less with the retail price going down by at least R1.92.
John Loos, the property sector strategist at FNB Commercial Property Finance, warned that the fuel price reduction is not yet expected to be sufficient to stop an anticipated weakening in commercial property demand in the second half of 2022, as lagged direct and indirect impacts from earlier fuel price hikes feed through.
, and for this to remain a negative for retailers and retail centres focusing more on non-essentials as well as low-frequency ‘postponeable’ items. Hardware, Paint and Glass Product Retail’, which relates to home maintenance and improvements and is often postponeable, declining year-on-year by 6.8% year-on-year in real terms, while ‘Clothing Textiles and Footwear’ was down by 4%, and ‘Home Furniture and Appliances’ down 0.3%.
A negative impact on the country’s trade can negatively impact demand for Industrial Property Space, said FNB.