Des Erasmus
Motorists and businesses should brace for a fuel price shock from Wednesday, with diesel set to increase by as much as R3.15 a litre and both grades of petrol increasing by R1.34 a litre, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced on Monday.
Diesel with 0.05% sulphur will increase by R2.939 a litre, while 0.005% sulphur diesel will jump by R3.149.
Illuminating paraffin will increase by R2.13 a litre at wholesale level, while the single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin will rise by R2.84 a litre.
The maximum retail price of LPGas will increase by 69 cents per kilogram nationally and by 79 cents per kilogram in the Western Cape.
The department attributed the increases to rising crude oil and international petroleum product prices, geopolitical tensions and supply shortages, while a stronger rand provided some relief.
“The average Brent Crude oil price increased from 82.37 US Dollars (USD) to 87.88 USD during the period under review,” the department said.
“The increase is due to the continued US/Iran tensions, uncertainty regarding the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and higher shipping costs.”
International prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin also rose sharply during the review period.
“The average international product prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased due to supply shortages caused by continued Russia/Ukraine conflict and lower global inventories of products,” the department said.
Those factors added 127.79 cents a litre to the Basic Fuel Price of petrol, 321.29 cents a litre to diesel and 239.06 cents a litre to illuminating paraffin.
The rand strengthened against the dollar during the review period, cushioning some of the increases. It appreciated from an average R16.46 to R16.21 to the dollar, reducing the Basic Fuel Price contribution by 21.07 cents a litre for petrol, 29.06 cents for diesel and 26.69 cents for illuminating paraffin.
Slate levy
Consumers will, however, also be hit by a higher slate levy.
The cumulative slate balance for petrol and diesel stood at a negative R9.519 billion at the end of July, prompting the government to increase the levy from 61.38 cents to 83.28 cents a litre.
The higher levy will be included in the petrol and diesel price structures from Wednesday.
Petrol will face an additional cost increase after the approval of a 4.9 cents-a-litre adjustment to accommodate higher wages for forecourt workers.
The component will rise from 315.1 cents to 320 cents a litre under the Motor Industry Bargaining Council multi-year wage settlement agreement signed in August 2025.
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