The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced that fuel prices in South Africa are being slashed across the board this Wednesday, 7 August.
Both grades of petrol are dropping by 15c a litre, with diesel to go down by a minimum of 17c a litre.
This follows a favourable performance in the rand/US dollar exchange rate during the month of July coupled with a drop in international petroleum product prices.
Petrol Price Pleasure
For the period 28 June to 1 August 2024, the average rand/US dollar exchange rate fell from R18.4439/dollar to R18.2360/dollar, leading to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol and diesel by 13.86c/litre and 13.80c/litre, respectively.
International oil prices simultaneously experienced a noticeable decline over this time.
A single barrel of Brent Crude oil traded for $86.41 on 28 June, dropping to a low of $79.52 by 1 August largely due to decreased demand from China.
This slashed a further 1c/litre from local petrol costs, and a more noticeable 2c/litre from diesel 0.005% and 13c/litre from diesel 0.05%.
Furthermore, the cumulative balance in the country’s slate account amounted to R1.8 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of June 2024.
As such, in line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, the Slate Levy will remain at 0c/litre in the price structures of petrol and diesel for the upcoming month.
With these major input elements accounted for, the following fuel price changes will take effect in South Africa on Wednesday, 7 August 2024, as per the DMRE:
– Petrol 93 – Decrease of 15c a litre
– Petrol 95 – Decrease of 15c a litre
– Diesel 0.05% – Decrease of 28c a litre
– Diesel 0.005% – Decrease of 17c a litre
The table below indicates how the official fuel price adjustments for August 2024 will reflect at the pump:
| Fuel type | Gauteng | Coastal |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol 93 | R22.71 | R21.92 |
| Petrol 95 | R23.11 | R22.32 |
| Diesel 0.05% | R20.38 | R19.59 |
| Diesel 0.005% | R20.74 | R19.98 |
