Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has announced that the price of both grades of petrol will increase on Wednesday.
The price of petrol 93 (ULP and LRP) will increase by 29 cents per litre and the price of 95 (ULP and LRP) will increase by 26 cents per litre, while the price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will increase by 42 cents per litre and the price of diesel (0.005% sulphur) will increase by 41 cents per litre.
The price of illuminating paraffin (wholesale) will increase by 36 cents per litre, while the Single Maximum National Retail Price (SMNRP) for illuminating paraffin will increase by 48 cents per litre.
The Maximum Retail Price for LPGas will increase by 63 cents per litre.
“South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted on a monthly basis, informed by international and local factors. International factors include the fact that South Africa imports both crude oil and finished products at a price set at the international level, including importation costs, such as shipping costs,” the Minister said.
The main reasons for the fuel price adjustments are due to crude oil prices, international petroleum product prices and the Rand/US Dollar exchange rate.
“The average Brent Crude oil price increased from 66.00USD to 73.00USD per barrel during the period under review. The higher oil prices are mainly due to inventory decline, as reported by the International Energy Agency and concerns about the spread of the latest Coronavirus variant globally. However, the market is optimistic that OPEC [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] may decide to ease oil production cuts during its next meeting,” Mantashe said.
The movement in international refined petroleum product prices followed the increasing trend in crude oil prices.
This led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Price of petrol by 36.74 c/l and 39.81 c/l, diesel by 52.33 c/l and 51.63 c/l and illuminating paraffin by 45.76 c/l.
“The Rand appreciated slightly, on average, against the US Dollar (from 14.11 to 13.92 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by about 10.00 cents per litre,” the Minister said.