South African motorists who headed to the pumps to refuel their cars on Wednesday morning were met with a surprise when they discovered that the fuel price cuts announced for July had not yet taken effect.
Since the introduction of the Working Rules to Administer the Basic Fuel Price methodology in March 2003, which replaced the previously used In-Bond Landed Cost formula, fuel prices have been adjusted on the first Wednesday of every month without fail.
This month was different, however, as the confirmed price reductions were only implemented on Thursday, 4 July, costing motorists and retailers dearly.
The reason behind the postponement comes down to the delay in the formation of the new Government of National Unity (GNU), said the Central Energy Fund.
The final formation of the GNU was only announced late in the evening on Sunday, 30 June, a mere two days before the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy was supposed to sign off on July’s official fuel price changes.
Consequently, the new Cabinet was only sworn in on Wednesday, 3 July, the day on which these adjustments were already supposed to be in force.
Furthermore, the GNU brought notable changes to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy which has always been responsible for determining the monthly fuel price alterations.
The Department has now been split up into the Department of Electricity and Energy, under Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and the Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, under Gwede Mantashe.
Hence, Minister Mantashe only gazetted July’s fuel price adjustments on 3 July, with the new prices therefore taking effect on the 4th.
Petrol price cuts for July
Fuel prices dropped across the board in South Africa this July, with petrol seeing a noticeably larger reduction than diesel.
These movements are primarily a result of lower average international oil prices, with the price of the black gold decreasing from US$82.98 per barrel to US$82.24 per barrel during June.
This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Price of petrol by 93.66–99.65c/l, and diesel by 17.55–23.80c/l.
A 4.8c/l reduction in the Slate Levy and a slightly appreciating rand/US dollar exchange rate – dropping from an average of R18.46/dollar at the start of June to R18.44/dollar at the end – brought further relief.
As a result of these factors, the following fuel price changes took effect today, 4 July 2024:
- Petrol 93 – Decrease of R1.05 a litre
- Petrol 95 – Decrease of 99c a litre
- Diesel 0.05% – Decrease of 30c a litre
- Diesel 0.005% – Decrease of 24c a litre
The below table shows how the official fuel price changes for July will reflect at the pump:
| Fuel type | Gauteng | Coastal |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol 93 | R22.86 | R22.07 |
| Petrol 95 | R23.26 | R22.47 |
| Diesel 0.05% | R20.66 | R19.87 |
| Diesel 0.005% | R20.91 | R20.15 |
Join the discussion