South Africa Sees Little Scope to Ease Fuel-Price Shock

South Africa’s National Treasury signaled it has little room to mitigate against the impact of a looming fuel-price shock stemming from the war in the Middle East.

The price of crude has jumped more than 40% to over $100 a barrel since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting shipping and production. It would cost the government tens of millions of rand to offset the knock-on effect on gasoline and diesel costs, said Duncan Pieterse, the Treasury’s director-general.