Official petrol price decreases for July announced

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has announced the official fuel price adjustments for July 2026.

Oil prices plummeted in June thanks to the ceasefire agreement reached by the Unites States and Iran, causing Brent Crude to drop to around $75 per barrel.

At the same time, the rand was able to maintain its value against the US dollar during the period from the end of May to the end of June, hovering at roughly R16.4 per USD for most of the month.

Because of this, both petrol and diesel have remained firmly in over-recovery territory.

The basic fuel price recovery for petrol is pegged at around R3 per litre, while diesel experienced an even greater over-recovery of R5 per litre.

However, consumers are not seeing the full benefit of this reduction due to the return of the full General Fuel Levy (GFL).

The GFL was reduced by R3 per litre for petrol and R3.93 per litre for diesel in May, but the National Treasury added half of the fuel tax back in June.

The remaining half has now been reintroduced, officially ending the government’s fuel price relief measures.

Consequently, R1.50 has been added to the price of petrol, while the tax on diesel has gone up by R1.97 per litre.

These are the official fuel price adjustments after the GFL tax has been factored in:

• Petrol 93 – Decrease of R2.01 per litre
• Petrol 95 – Decrease of R1.96 per litre
• Diesel 0.05% (wholesale) – Decrease of R3.14 per litre
• Diesel 0.005% (wholesale) – Decrease of R3.59 per litre

In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, a Slate Levy of 113.94c/l will be implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel.

This is to offset the cumulative petrol and diesel Slate balances, which amounted to a negative balance of R13.32 billion at the end of May 2026.

What you’re paying this June

The new fuel price adjustments will take effect tomorrow on Wednesday, 1 July 2026.

The rand appreciated against the US dollar during the period under review, dropping from R16.51 to R16.37 per USD.

This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Price of 11.405c/l for petrol and 13.497c/l, respectively.

The table below indicates how the official fuel price adjustments for July will reflect at the pump: