South Africans are officially paying the highest petrol prices in the country’s history.
Following June’s petrol price adjustments, motorists are paying R28.06 per litre for petrol 95, passing the previous record of R26.74 set in July 2022.
On Wednesday 3 June 2026, petrol received a substantial increase of R1.43 per litre.
This is despite the fact that the Central Energy Fund (CEF) previously estimated that petrol prices would drop this month.
Indeed, global oil prices fell in May as the United States and Iran began peace talks to end the war in the Middle East.
However, while the basic fuel price did decrease, the CEF’s data did not account for the fact that the General Fuel Levy (GFL) would return this month.
Goodbye price relief – Hello fuel taxes
The GFL, which is a tax placed on every litre of petrol and diesel sold in South Africa, was reduced by R3 per litre in April as a temporary relief measure to shield consumers from skyrocketing fuel prices.
This measure was only meant to last until the end of April; however, the government later decided to extend the relief effort to May.
The tax cut on diesel was even expanded to R3.93 per litre to further reduce the cost of the fuel used by the nation’s transport industry, indirectly affecting the price of goods and services.
However, this relief measure is now coming to an end, as the National Treasury re-introduced half of the GFL in June.
Consequently, R1.50 was added back to petrol prices, while diesel was hit with a R1.93 tax increase.
This had the effect of reversing South Africa’s expected petrol price adjustment, as the fuel was supposed to receive a small reduction of 7c per litre.
Instead, prices rose by R1.43 per litre, putting the fuel’s cost at a record-high of R28.06 per litre at inland rates.
Diesel users, on the other hand, still saw a price reduction at the pumps.
This is because diesel was on track for a sizeable decrease of R5.18 per litre, which was more than enough to offset the return of the GFL.
Even though the price of both fuels is still incredibly high, the National Treasury is ending the relief measure because of the enormous cost to the state.
It estimated that it lost approximately R17.2 billion in taxes between April and June 2026 due to the GFL reduction.
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