• The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has released the official prices for petrol and other fuels for June 2024.
• It seems the forecast by the CEF was actually quite moderate, as the official prices see larger decreases across all grades of fuel.
• Both grades of petrol are to decrease in price by about R1.24 per litre.

Following on predictions forecast by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) at the end of May, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has released the official changes to the price of petrol and other fuels for June, taking effect Wednesday 5th June 2024.

The official pricing comes with larger decreases than the forecast from the CEF, which held that both grades of petrol and diesel would see lower prices by over R1 per litre.

Here are the changes for the official price for petrol and other fuels in June 2024:

• Petrol 93 to decrease by R1.24 per litre,
• Petrol 95 to decrease by R1.24 per litre,
• Diesel 0.05 percent to decrease by R1.19 per litre,
• Diesel 0.005 percent to decrease by R1.09 per litre,
• Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale) to decrease by 80 cents per litre,
• Illuminating Paraffin (SMNRP) to decrease by R1.08 per litre
• LP gas to decrease by R1.35 per kilogram.

Massive decreases across the board for all grades of fuels in South Africa are then slated for June 2024. This is likely the largest slump in prices South Africans will experience all year.

There are two major contributors to these decreases.

The first, also regarded by the CEF, is a wide-ranging decrease in the international price of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin compared to May. The second is the Rand, which despite seeing losses following the results of the national elections, has rebounded against the US Dollar on news of a potentially market-friendly ANC coalition government.

The stronger Rand “led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 30.91 /l, 29.90 c/l and 30.03 c/l respectively,” the department explains.

More good news as the price of Brent Crude Oil has continued to decrease and is currently at $76.13 per barrel. If the price per barrel continues to lower, and the Rand remains somewhat strong against the Dollar, South African motorists could expect another decrease in prices for July.

However, this does depend on international market reactions to the ANC’s upcoming coalition partners.

[Image – CC 0 Engin Akyurt from Pixabay]