Motorists brace for major fuel price hikes
South African motorists are set for another heavy hit at the pumps, with both grades of petrol prices increasing by R1.34 a litre and diesel rising by up to R3.15 a litre from Wednesday.
The Department of Petroleum Resources announced the latest fuel price adjustments, citing rising international oil and petroleum product prices and changes to the fuel pricing structure.
Diesel will see the biggest increases, with 0.05% sulphur diesel rising by 293.90 cents a litre, while 0.005% sulphur diesel will increase by 314.90 cents a litre.
Wholesale illuminating paraffin will rise by R2.13 a litre, while the retail price of illuminating paraffin will increase by R2.84 a litre.
The department attributed the increase in fuel prices largely to developments in international oil markets.
“The average international product prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased due to supply shortages caused by the continued Russia/Ukraine conflict and lower global inventories of products," spokesperson Lerato Ntsoko.
The average Brent crude oil price increased from 82.37 US dollars to 87.88 US dollars during the period under review.
Ntsoko added that the crude oil price was driven by continued US-Iran tensions, uncertainty over oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and higher shipping costs.
The stronger rand provided some relief, with the currency appreciating from an average of R16.46 to R16.21 against the US dollar.
“This led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and Illuminating Paraffin by 21.07 c/l, 29.06 c/l and 26.69 c/l respectively,” said Ntsoko.
However, this was not enough to offset the other increases.
At the same time, the slate levy has increased from 61.38 cents to 83.28 cents per litre.
The levy is implemented to address the accumulated negative slate balance, which stood at R9.519 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of July.
The latest increases are expected to put further pressure on motorists and households, with higher fuel costs also potentially feeding into transport and other consumer costs.
ALSO READ:
