South Africans have been on tenterhooks in recent weeks, with the fuel levy measures announced for April and May set to elapse this evening. After midnight tonight, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed that the petrol price will go up by R2.43 per litre.

The announcement (PDF) was made by the DMRE earlier today, where it noted that the R2.43 increase pertains to both ULP and LRP 93 fuel, while ULP and LRP 95 fuel will increase by R2.33 per litre as of 1st June.

As such, there should be a manic rush to the nearest petrol station this evening, if there hasn’t been frantic activity already.

Looking at the other increases, 0.05 percent Diesel will increase by R1.10, while 0.005 percent diesel will rise by R1.07 per litre. Added to this, illuminating paraffin will cost R1.56 more per litre.

Like many other countries, the ongoing invasion of the Ukraine by Russia is cited as a reason for the increases, along with a depreciating Rand/Dollar exchange rate.

“In addition to the tight middle distillates market, the petrol market is also getting tight amid summer driving season in the Northern Hemisphere due to decreasing inventories of finished products. This has led to higher refining margins resulting in high prices of finished products,” the DMRE explained in a media statement.

“The Rand depreciated, on average, against the US Dollar (USD), from 14.90 to 15.95 Rand per USD during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 99.49 c/l, 104.69 c/l and 104.47 c/l, respectively,” it added.

With South African motorists barring the brunt of this latest increase, as well as the continued threat of loadshedding, June is already shaping up to be a tough month without even mentioning the drop in temperature.

[Image – Photo by Geovanni Herrera on Unsplash]