Official Fuel Price Hikes for March Announced, Dark Clouds Already Gathering for April

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has confirmed that fuel prices will increase from Wednesday, marking the first hike since December.

While petrol drivers will feel it, it is diesel that is taking the real knock and that matters most to the trucking industry.

All grades of petrol will rise by 20 cents per litre. Diesel with 0.05 percent sulphur increases by 62 cents per litre, while 0.005 percent sulphur diesel goes up by 65 cents.

That pushes 95 octane petrol to R20.30 per litre in Gauteng and R19.47 at the coast. Wholesale diesel with 0.05 percent sulphur now sits at R18.54 inland and R17.71 at the coast.

Paraffin climbs by 58 cents per litre and gas increases by 26 cents per kilogram in the Western Cape and 23 cents elsewhere.

The rand did offer some relief, strengthening from an average of R16.31 to R16.00 against the dollar during the pricing period. However, higher international oil prices wiped out that benefit.

Brent crude has since surged past 80 dollars per barrel, well above February’s average of 69.08 dollars, and those latest spikes are not yet reflected in the March adjustment.

According to the Road Freight Association, the diesel increase of between 60 and 65 cents per litre will place immediate pressure on transport operators.

RFA CEO Gavin Kelly says diesel remains the primary input cost for medium and heavy commercial transporters. Operators will have little choice but to adjust rates, either immediately or when contracts allow. Any savings gained during the gradual fuel price reductions in 2025 are now effectively erased.

The RFA warns that consumers will soon feel the impact at the till, as higher transport costs filter through the supply chain.

With a further 21 cents per litre in combined levy increases already announced for April, and global tensions driving oil markets higher, the road ahead is looking expensive for transporters and the man in the street alike.