By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Petrol and diesel prices will be lowered by more than R1 a litre on Wednesday, pushing fuel prices to levels last seen before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The price of 95 octane petrol will drop by R1.06 a litre while that for 93 octane will fall by R1.14, the department of minerals and petroleum said on Monday.
That’s 18% less than October last year and the lowest since February 2022.
The diesel price will be reduced by R1.14 a litre and illuminating paraffin, which many low income South African households still rely on for cooking and lighting, will be R1.48 lower.
This is the fifth consecutive month that petrol prices have declined, with 95 octane petrol set to cost R21.05 a litre in Gauteng from Wednesday from R25.49 in May.
South Africa adjusts its fuel prices each month, based on the global oil price and the rand exchange rate.
The department attributed the latest round of price decreases to a mix of local and international factors, the most prominent being a dip in the average Brent crude oil price from $78.54 to $72.82 a barrel for the period under review. This was a result of increased production from major oil-producing countries despite lower demand concerns.
“The rand appreciated on average, against the US dollar … during the period under review. This led to lower contributions to the basic fuel prices of all products by over 21.00 cents per litre,” the department added.
Meanwhile, the decrease in liquid fuel prices is also owing to the temporary closure of the Port of Port Elizabeth owing to an incident in June 2024.
“Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Gwede Mantashe has approved the implementation of the revised transport tariffs into the petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin price structures as an interim measure until the Port is operational, with effect from October 2.
The adjustment to the road transport tariffs applicable to petrol, diesel and IP price structures will range from a decrease of 0.9c/l in Zone 9A to an increase of 10.5c/l in Zone 8B,” the DMPR notes.