South African motorists will face the largest fuel price increases in the country’s history from tomorrow, 1 April, with petrol rising by R3.06 per litre and diesel by more than R7.00 per litre.
The Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced the adjustments today, 31 March, following severe market disruptions caused by the US-Iran conflict.
The United States initiated military action against Iran on 28 February in an operation designated “Epic Fury”. Retaliatory strikes by Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed global oil prices above $100 per barrel, whilst investors withdrew from riskier markets, weakening the rand.
Fuel levy reduction implemented
National Treasury will implement a temporary fuel levy reduction of R3.00 per litre from 1 April to 5 May to mitigate the impact on consumers.
Diesel prices will increase by R7.37 per litre for 0.05% sulphur diesel and R7.51 per litre for 0.005% sulphur diesel.
Illuminating paraffin will rise by R15.60 per litre.
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The rand depreciated from 16.00 to 16.64 against the US dollar during the review period, contributing 56.18 cents per litre to petrol prices and 78.07 cents per litre to diesel prices.
International product prices increased by R5.26 per litre for petrol, R9.49 per litre for diesel and R10.80 per litre for illuminating paraffin. Propane and butane prices remained unchanged due to lower demand as the Northern Hemisphere entered warmer weather, though shipping costs increased due to the Middle East conflict.
The Minister of Finance announced in his budget speech on 25 February that the fuel levy on petrol and diesel would increase by nine cents per litre and eight cents per litre respectively. The carbon levy will increase by five cents per litre for petrol and six cents per litre for diesel.
The Road Accident Fund levy on both petrol and diesel will increase by seven cents per litre to 225 cents per litre.
With the temporary R3.00 reduction, the fuel levy for petrol will be 129 cents per litre and for diesel 116 cents per litre during the intervention period.
Pump prices from 1 April
Inland pump prices from 1 April will be R23.25 per litre for 93 octane petrol and R23.36 per litre for 95 octane petrol. Coastal prices will be R22.46 per litre for 93 octane petrol and R22.53 per litre for 95 octane petrol.
Wholesale diesel prices inland will rise to R25.90 per litre for 0.05% sulphur and R26.11 per litre for 0.005% sulphur. Coastal wholesale diesel will be R25.07 per litre and R25.35 per litre respectively.
LPG prices in Gauteng will increase by R1.08 per kilogramme to R36.05 per kilogramme.
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