South Africans are spending up to R108.80 more on petrol in February 2025 than they were last year.
The cost of fuel has unfortunately been hit with four consecutive hikes in as many months, leading to a noticeably higher bill for motorists.
Cost of petrol – Before and after
Back in October 2024, petrol 95 retailed at R21.05 per litre at inland rates, but this number has since jumped to R22.41 per litre as of February 2025.
This is because the price of fuel has increased for four consecutive months, as shown below:
- November – 25c per litre increase
- December – 17c per litre increase
- January – 12c per litre increase
- February – 82c per litre increase
These four hikes have collectively added R1.36 to the price of every litre of petrol, which is making a considerable difference at the pump.
The following table shows how much it cost to fill up various different tank sizes back in October prior to the increases, compared to what people are spending for the same amount of fuel now:
| Tank size | Cost to refill in October 2024 (R21.05) | Cost to refill in February 2025 (R22.41) | Difference |
| 30 litres | R631.50 | R672.30 | + R40.80 |
| 40 litres | R842 | R896.40 | + R54.40 |
| 50 litres | R1,052.50 | R1,120.50 | + R68 |
| 60 litres | R1,263 | R1,344.60 | + R81.60 |
| 70 litres | R1,473.50 | R1,568.70 | + R95.20 |
| 80 litres | R1,684 | R1,792.80 | + R108.80 |
Even with a small tank size of 30 litres, typical of what you’d find on a compact hatchback, road users are spending at least R40 more for every top-up.
On the other end of the spectrum, people with large SUVs or bakkies are paying up to R100 more for fuel than they were just a few months ago.
The increases can be attributed to two main factors – the US dollar/rand exchange rate, and the international trading price of Brent crude oil.
Between November and February, the global price of oil went from $72.78 to $77.41, owing to increased demand for heating resources in the northern hemisphere and China’s growing economic output.
At the same time, OPEC has elected to delay increasing production until April this year, leading to a constrained supply.
The rand, meanwhile, fell from R17.53/dollar to R18.73/dollar over the monitored period, as many investors have dropped emerging-market currencies in favour of the dollar following Donald Trump’s US election victory in November.
Unfortunately, the bad news is that the monthly hikes are expected to continue in March, as the auditing and consulting firm Deloitte believes that fuel taxes will increase following Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech next week Wednesday, 19 February.
This is because the General Fuel Levy (GFL) and Road Accident Fund (RAF) Levy have been unaltered since 2021 as part of economic relief measures first introduced during Covid-19, and enough time has passed that these taxes are now expected to receive an update.
The GFL currently adds R3.96 per litre to the price of petrol while the RAF Levy adds another R2.18 per litre, meaning that an increase to both could raise the cost of fuel significantly.
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