Massive drop in fuel price as lockdown sets in
Motorists can breathe a sigh of relief with a massive drop in both petrol and diesel prices in April.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe announced the latest fuel price adjustments on Friday.
The drop in the price of petrol and diesel comes amid a plunge in oil prices as economies grind to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The decline has also been fuelled by a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Motorists will be paying between R1.88 and R1.94 less for a litre of 95 octane petrol and between R1.76 and R1.82 less for a litre of 93 octane.
The price of diesel will decrease by between R1,34 and R1,40 depending on the sulphur content.
The department says the massive drop in prices is mostly due to the lower international oil price, which off-set the weaker rand against the US dollar.
“The increase in the fuel and Road Accident Fund levies by 16 cents and 9.0 cents respectively, as announced by the Minister of Finance in his Budget Speech on the 26th of February 2020, will be effected into the prices of this month.
“The main reason for the lower oil prices is due to the continuous spread of the COVID-19, even in countries outside China.
The prices adjustments will differ across the various provinces, says the department.
“These zone differential adjustments are based on the Vehicle Cost Schedule 17 of the Road Freight Association (RFA) published in October 2019 (7.6 percent increase) and the approved petroleum pipeline transport tariffs announced by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) on the 26th of February 2020 (11.6 percent increase).”