- For the first time in three months the prices of petrol in South Africa will decrease.
- Since July, steadily climbing fuel prices constrained an already contained consumer and weighed on motorists.
- A stronger Rand against the Dollar at the beginning of November has led to decreases across most fuel products from Wednesday.
After three straight months of steadily rising price of petrol constraining South African motorists, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has mercifully announced a wide range of decreases in the cost of fuels.
September and October saw large hikes in the prices of diesel, petrol, paraffin and liquid petroleum gas further squeezing an already squeezed South African consumer as international crude oil prices increased and the Rand weakened against the US Dollar.
Now from 1st November 2023, Wednesday, all types of fuels will see some decreases in price, except for the maximum retail price for liquid petroleum gas, which will continue to increase.
November petrol and fuel price decrease according to the DMRE:
- Both grades of petrol (93 and 95) – decrease of R1.78 per litre,
- Diesel 0.05 – decrease of 85 cents per litre,
- Diesel 0.005 – decrease of 82 cents per litre,
- Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale) – decrease of 97 cents per litre,
- Illuminating Paraffin (SMNRP) – decrease of R1.30 per litre,
- Liquid petroleum gas (maximum retail price) – increase of R1.49 per kilogram.
The announcement of the petrol price decrease from the DMRE contains more information about why costs climbed so significantly in the last few months. According to the department, it boils down to the weakness of the Rand against the Dollar.
“The average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate for the period 29 September 2023 to 26 October 2023 was 19.0797 compared to 18.9853 during the previous period. This led to a higher contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin,” the department explains. As of the time of writing, the Rand is stronger against the Dollar, at R18.83, no doubt leading to some reduction in fuel prices.
In October, the DMRE stated that international fuel prices caused the hikes affecting petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin. The month before that, lower shipments of crude oil out of Russia’s Urals caused a worldwide increase in prices that funnelled down towards South Africa since the country imports most of its fuel products.
August saw increased demand of crude oil from India and China, and decreased supply from producer Saudi Arabia, which led to price hikes for that month. The last time petrol prices saw a decrease was in July 2023.
[Image – Photo by Juan Fernandez on Unsplash]
