Official petrol price increases for June

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has published the country’s latest fuel price adjustments that will take effect tomorrow, 1 June.

According to BusinessTech, South African petrol prices will rise by as much as R2.43 per litre next month, while the prices for diesel will go up by a maximum of R1.10 per litre.

The steep increases are in spite of the extension of the fuel tax holiday until August. The extension will see R1.50 taken off the General Fuel Levy (GFL) in June and 75 cents taken off in July.

Two additional and more permanent interventions were also taken by the DMRE to stem the rising fuel prices.

These comprise scrapping 10 cents per litre from the inland price of Petrol 95 by removing the demand-side management levy, and cutting the basic fuel price by 3 cents per litre.

The government will also look at partially deregulating the price of Petrol 93 in the future, said the DMRE.

With these interventions accounted for, the prices of South African fuels will be adjusted as follows on 1 June:

The main factors that caused these drastic increases are a rise in Brent crude oil prices and a weakening rand, said the DMRE.

Brent crude oil jumped from $104.78 to $115 per barrel during the period under review, whereas the local currency depreciated from R14.90 to R15.95 per dollar.

These adverse conditions were paired with rising demand for fuel in the Northern Hemisphere due to more driving taking place over the summer months.

Therefore, the official fuel prices for June will be as follows: