Official petrol price adjustments for South Africa in April

Fuel prices in South Africa are being adjusted on Wednesday, 3 April, with petrol going up across the board while diesel will either drop or increase, depending on the region.

As published by the Central Energy Fund (CEF), petrol is rising by as much as 67c per litre in Gauteng and 60c per litre on the coast, while diesel is climbing by 3c per litre inland and dropping by a maximum of 9c per litre at the coast.

A mixed bag

In March, the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate improved from an average of R19.0186/dollar during February to R18.8689/dollar by 26 March.

This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 10.78 c/l, 10.88 c/l and 10.74 c/l respectively

Furthermore, the movement in international petroleum products prices as a result of fluctuations in oil costs tacked on 47c/litre to the prices of petrol in South Africa but contributed to a reduction of between 19-24c/litre for diesel.

Apart from these elements, a number of local factors played a role in April’s flurry of fuel price alterations.

In his Budget Speech on 21 February 2024, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana announced that the Carbon Fuel levy will increase by 1.0c/l on petrol and 3.0 c/l on diesel, but that no changes will be made to the General Fuel and Road Accident Fund levy for the year.

As such, with effect from 03 April 2024, the Fuel Levy in the price structure of petrol and diesel will increase to 396.0c/l and 384.0c/l, respectively, and the Road Accident Fund Levy in the price structure of both petrol and diesel will remain at 218c/l.

In line with the Ministerial approval, the annual adjustments to road transport tariffs applicable in petrol and diesel structures will range from 0.3c/l (Zone 1A) to 14.2c/l (Zone 17C).

The IP transport tariffs will range from a decrease of 14.8c/l (Zone 17C) to an increase of 14.8c/l (Zone 14C).

According to the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, a Slate Levy of 21.92c/l will also be implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from 03 April 2024, up from 0.00c/l in March.

With these inputs accounted for, fuel prices in South Africa on Wednesday, 3 April, will be adjusted as follows:

The varying increases in petrol prices in particular are a result of adjustments to the Working Rules to administer the Basic Fuel Price, which takes place at the start of every quarter, said the CEF.

The following table shows how these changes will reflect at the pump: