Official petrol price increases for April announced

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has finally announced the official fuel price adjustments for April 2026.

As expected, motorists will be hit by substantial petrol and diesel hikes, which will take effect on Wednesday this week.

The primary reason for the fuel price increases is the war in the Middle East, which has caused the international price of oil to skyrocket.

The department noted that the average Brent Crude oil price escalated from $69.08 per barrel to $93.67 per barrel during the period under review.

This is due to the sustained conflict between the United States and Iran, which has disrupted global oil supplies with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.

These factors led to a higher contribution to the Basic Fuel Price (BFP) of petrol and diesel by R5.26 and R9.49 per litre, respectively.

Another contributing factor is the US dollar/rand exchange rate, as the rand depreciated against the greenback during the period under review.

The rand’s value declined from R16 to R16.64 per USD, leading to a higher contribution to the BFP of 56.18c/l for petrol and 78.07c/l for diesel.

The slate levy remains unchanged at zero cents per litre in the price structure of petrol and diesel with effect from 1 April.

The government is also raising fuel taxes in line with the proposals announced during the 2026 Budget Speech.

The General Fuel Levy will increase by 9.0c/l on petrol and 8.0c/l on diesel, raising the total on each fuel type to 429c/l and 416c/l, respectively.

The Road Accident Fund Levy is also been increased by 7.0c/l for both petrol and diesel to 225.0c/l.

Furthermore, the Carbon Levy is being increased by 5.0c/l for petrol and 6.0c/l for diesel.

However, the government announced today (31 March 2026) that it will implement short term relief measures to cushion the fuel price blow to consumers.

Consequently, the General Fuel Levy will be temporarily reduced by R3 per litre from 1 April until 5 May 2026.

“Therefore, the fuel levy for petrol and diesel will be 129.0 c/l and 116.0 c/l respectively during this period,” said the department.

What you’re paying this April

The new fuel price adjustments will take effect later this week, on Wednesday, 1 April 2026.

Petrol was previously expected to go up by more than R6 per litre, but thanks to the last minute intervention by the government, motorists will experience a smaller increase of R3.06 per litre for both octanes.

It’s a similar story for diesel, as diesel was projected to face a record-high increase of over R10 per litre, but the temporary fuel relief means that users will pay R3 less than previously reported.

That being said, buyers will still see a considerable hike of R7.37 for diesel 0.05% while 0.005% is going up by R7.51 per litre.

These are the official adjustments:

• Petrol 93 – Increase of R3.06 per litre
• Petrol 95 – Increase of R3.06 per litre
• Diesel 0.05% (wholesale) – Increase of R7.37 per litre
• Diesel 0.005% (wholesale) – Increase of R7.51 per litre

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