By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DRME) has published the latest official fuel price adjustments, which will kick in from Wednesday, 5 June 2024.
Both grades of petrol will decrease by R1.24c per litre, while diesel will decrease by R1.08c and R1.18c per litre and illuminating paraffin by R1.07c per litre.
In Gauteng, petrol will now retail for R24.25 a litre, while on the coast, it will cost R23.46. Petrol prices, which started the year at R22.49 in Gauteng, have seen four consecutive hikes since January.
From Wednesday, the wholesale diesel price will be around R20.97 in Gauteng and R20.18 on the coast. This is close to its cheapest levels in 2024. At the start of the year, wholesale diesel was R20.63 in Gauteng.
LP gas will go down by R1.36c per kilogram.
The average international product prices for Petrol, Diesel and Illuminating Paraffin decreased during the period under review.
The Rand appreciated against the US Dollar during the period under review, on average, when compared to the previous period. The average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate for the period 26 April 2024 to 30 May 2024 was 18.4664 compared to 18.9036 during the previous period.
This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 30.91 c/l, 29.90 c/l and 30.03 c/l respectively.
The combined cumulative petrol and diesel Slate balances at the end of April 2024 amounted to a negative balance of R696.3 million.
In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, a Slate Levy of 4.38 c/l (decrease of 17.54 c/l) has been implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from 05 June 2024.