Fuel price reprieve: Motorists to pay less for petrol

South African motorists will pay less for petrol and diesel from Wednesday.

This follows consecutive fuel price reductions in the last few months in South Africa.

Fuel prices

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced that the price of both 93 and 95 octane petrol will drop by 15 cents per litre from Wednesday, 7 August.

The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will be reduced by 28 cents per litre, and diesel with 0.005% sulphur will drop by 17 cents per litre.

Meanwhile, illuminating paraffin will cost 22 cents less per litre, while the price of LP gas decreases by 14 cents per kilogram.

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Reason for petrol decrease

DMRE spokesperson, Robert Maake said there were several factors that contributed to the decreases in petrol and diesel prices.

Brent crude oil prices

Maake said the average Brent Crude oil price increased from $82.24 to $83.55 per barrel, during the period under review.

“The main contributing factors are the decline in US inventories, reduced production from Canada due to the wildfires, tensions in the Middle East as well as continued production cuts by OPEC.

“The average international product prices for petrol increased slightly on average as the summer seasonal demand in the Northern Hemisphere improved, while diesel and illuminating paraffin prices decreased on average during the period under review,” Maake said.

Rand/US dollar exchange rate

The department said the rand appreciated on average, against the US dollar (from 18.44 to 18.23 rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one.

“This led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of all products by about 14.00 per litre.”

Slate levy

The cumulative slate amounted to a positive balance of R1.8 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of June 2024.

“In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, a slate levy of zero cents per litre remains in the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from the 7th of August 2024,” the department said.

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