Motorists will see petrol prices drop by 52 cents a litre from Wednesday 5 August, bringing welcome relief at the pumps.
Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe announced the fuel price adjustments on Monday, attributing the changes to current local and international market factors.
Both grades of petrol – 95 and 93 (LRP and ULP) – will decrease by 52 cents a litre. This means a litre of 95 petrol, which currently costs R26,10 in Gauteng, will drop to R25,58. In coastal areas, 95 petrol will fall from R25,23 to R24,71 a litre.
However, diesel users will face price hikes. Diesel (0,05% sulphur) will increase by R1,38 a litre, while diesel (0,005% sulphur) will go up by R1,23 a litre.
Illuminating paraffin (wholesale) will increase by R1,52 a litre. The single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin will rise by R2,03, while the maximum retail price of LPGas will decrease by R4,41 a kilogram, and R5,03 in the Western Cape.
Global oil price movements
According to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, the average Brent crude oil price decreased from $86,53 to $82,37 during the review period.
“The impact of renewed US/Iran tensions which caused the price to increase up to a $100 mark, was offset by the fact that the prices had already decreased significantly the previous month and the first half of this month due to the ceasefire MOU between the US and Iran as well as lower global demand for crude oil,” the department said.
Diesel and paraffin affected by global conflicts
Average international petrol prices decreased during the period under review, while diesel and illuminating paraffin prices increased due to supply shortages caused by the Russia/Ukraine conflict, which resulted in diesel export restrictions by Russia.
The department said the situation was compounded by Middle East refineries operating below capacity. These factors led to lower contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol.
