5 days ago
Fuel price cuts kick in, despite levy hike
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Fuel prices were lowered on Wednesday despite the first fuel levy increase in three years.
The price of unleaded petrol (93 and 95) was cut by 5c a litre, while the wholesale price of diesel saw a decline of 36.9c a litre.
The fuel levy hike was part of a set of trade-offs in the latest Budget to avoid hiking VAT. The levy was hiked by 16c a litre for petrol and 15c for diesel from Wednesday, 4 June.
Following Wednesday's cuts, the Gauteng wholesale diesel price is now around R18.53 a litre, while on the coast it's R17.70 - the lowest levels since October last year.
Gauteng petrol now retails for R21.35 a litre, while on the coast it's R20.52, the cheapest it's been since November last year.
The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin went down by 56c a litre at midnight. The maximum LPGas retail price was lowered by 89c/kg.
SA fuel prices are largely determined by the oil price and the rand exchange rate, as oil is priced in dollars.
The department of mineral and petroleum resources noted that the average Brent oil price fell from $66.40 a barrel to $63.95 over the past month. 'The main contributing factors are the continued global trade uncertainty, lower global crude oil demand outlook as well as the OPEC+ announcement of planned production increase in June 2025 and possibly in July 2025,' the department said in a statement.
However, average international petrol prices increased ahead of the summer driving season in the northern hemisphere.
Meanwhile, the rand saw large gains against the dollar (from R18.84 to R18.11).
