By Thapelo Molefe
South African motorists are set to face steep fuel price increases from Wednesday, with petrol 95 rising by R3.33 a litre and petrol 93 by R3.12 a litre.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources said the increases would take effect on Wednesday, following a sharp rise in international crude oil and petroleum product prices.
Diesel motorists will also be hit, with the price of 0.05% sulphur diesel increasing by R2.84 a litre, while 0.005% sulphur diesel will rise by R3.24 a litre.
“The average Brent Crude oil price increased from 87.89 US Dollars (USD) to 101 USD during the period under review,” the department said in a statement on Monday.
It attributed the increase to continued tensions between the United States (US) and Iran, uncertainty over the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, higher shipping costs and declining inventories.
The department said international prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin also increased because of supply shortages linked to lower global product inventories.
These factors increased the contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 329.07 cents, 280.17 cents and 357.23 cents per litre respectively.
The rand’s average exchange rate against the US dollar remained almost unchanged, appreciating slightly from R16.213 to R16.212 to the dollar.
According to the department, this resulted in marginally lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 0.17 cents, 0.22 cents and 0.21 cents per litre respectively.
The department also said the slate levy, which is used to recover accumulated under-recoveries in the fuel price mechanism, had increased.
“The cumulative slate amounted to a negative balance of R10.45 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of August 2026,” the department said.
The slate levy increased from 83.28 cents to 87.66 cents per litre.
Illuminating paraffin will increase by R3.58 a litre at wholesale level, while the Single Maximum National Retail Price for illuminating paraffin will increase by R4.77 a litre.
The maximum retail price of liquefied petroleum gas will increase by 42 cents per kilogram, with the Western Cape facing an increase of 48 cents per kilogram.
The department said the maximum refinery gate price for LPG imported through the Port of Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape would be R15,525.62 per metric ton, while the maximum retail price would be R37.08 per kilogram.
The department said the price difference between 95 and 93 octane petrol had also been adjusted in line with the rules used to determine Basic Fuel Prices.
“The BFP Octane differential has changed during the previous quarter and therefore the retail prices of 95 and 93 petrol octanes will be different in each fuel-pricing zone,” the department said.
The detailed fuel price schedule for the different Magisterial District Zones will be published on Tuesday.
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