Official petrol price adjustments for April announced

It’s no April Fool’s joke, fuel prices in South Africa are being slashed across the board at midnight tonight.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced that petrol will be dropping by a minimum of 58 cents per litre, while diesel is being cut by a significant 84c per litre.

The main contributing factor to these reductions were lower international oil prices and a strengthening rand.

A big month for fuel prices

The market saw a drop in the average price of Brent Crude oil over the course of March, from $74.89 per barrel to $71.04 per barrel.

This was attributed to the continued supply from non-OPEC countries as well as the anticipated increase in supply, though moderate, from OPEC+ producers in April 2025.

The development led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices (BFP) of petrol and diesel by 66.36c per litre and 80.10c per litre, respectively.

Concurrently, the rand appreciated against the US dollar during the period under review, going from an average of R18.50/dollar to R18.30/dollar.

This saw further over-recoveries in petrol and diesel by 11.72c per litre and 12.42c per litre, respectively.

Further affecting April’s adjustments were changes to the Carbon Fuel Levy.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his annual Budget Speech on 12 March that the particular tax will increase by 3c per litre to 14c per litre for petrol and 17c per litre for diesel, effective 2 April.

In line with the Working Rules to determine the BFP, the BFP-differential between 95 and 93 Octanes is adjusted on the first Wednesday of each quarter.

The BFP Octane differential changed during the previous quarter and therefore the retail prices of 95 and 93 petrol octanes will be different in each fuel-pricing zone with effect from 2 April 2025.

The Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has also approved the implementation of revised zone differentials into the price structures of petrol and diesel.

The annual adjustments to the transport tariffs applicable in petrol and diesel structures will range from an increase of 7.5c per litre (Magisterial District Pricing Zone 14C) to an increase of 4.2c per litre.

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

• Petrol 93 – Decrease of 58c a litre
• Petrol 95 – Decrease of 72c a litre
• Diesel 0.05% – Decrease of 84c a litre
• Diesel 0.005% – Decrease of 84c a litre

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