South Africa to reduce petrol, diesel prices from Wednesday

Johannesburg, Sept. 30, 2024 – Petrol and diesel prices in South Africa will be lowered by more than R1 a litre on Wednesday, pushing fuel prices to levels last seen before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced this on Monday.

The price of 95 unleaded petrol will be cut by R1.14 a litre, while 93 petrol will be R1.06 cheaper.

The wholesale price of diesel will fall by between R1.12 and R1.14, depending on the sulphur content.

The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will go down by R1.11 a litre. But the maximum LP gas retail price will be increased by 23c per kilogram.

From Wednesday, 95 unleaded petrol will now cost R21.05 a litre in Gauteng and R20.26 on the coast. These are the lowest levels since February 2022.

Wholesale Gauteng diesel prices will reach R18.45 a litre on Wednesday, and will be R17.66 on the coast – also the lowest since February 2022.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused supply chain disruptions and restricted imports of Russian crude oil, which pushed oil prices to multi-year highs.

But oil has been under pressure of late, with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources confirming that the average Brent oil price fell from $78.54 per barrel in August to $72.82 over the past month.

“The main contributing factor is the increased production from major oil-producing countries despite lower demand concerns.”

While weaker fuel demand is expected from the US and China due to economic slowdowns, there has been strong output growth from oil producers that are not members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (which has been cutting production). 

South African fuel prices are also determined by the rand exchange rate, as oil is priced in dollars.

The rand traded at R17.68/$ on average over the past month, compared to R18.05 in August, the department said.

The rand strength contributed to about 22c in cuts across petrol and diesel prices. (News24)