Motorists will have to dig deeper into their pockets after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced a hike in petrol and diesel prices.
The department announced that the 93 and 95 octane grades of gasoline will increase by 28 cents each from Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
The price of diesel (0.05% sulfur) increased by 9.16 cents per liter while diesel (0.005% sulfur) decreased by 0.84 cents per liter.
Meanwhile, illuminating paraffin will cost 58 sen more per litre, while the price of LP gas will be reduced by R1.40 per kilogram.
The reason for the increase
DMRE spokesperson Robert Maake said a number of international and local factors contributed to the increase in petrol prices.
“The movement in the prices of international refined petroleum products, diesel and illuminating paraffin in particular, followed the trend of falling crude oil prices while petrol prices rose during the period,” he explained.
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Brent Crude price
Maake said the main reason for the fuel price adjustment was the rise in Brent Crude prices.
“The average price of Brent crude oil increased from 85.08 US Dollars (USD) per barrel to 86.16 USD per barrel during the period under review. The main contributing factor was the reopening of the Chinese economy.
“The movement in the prices of international refined petroleum products, diesel, gasoline and illuminating paraffin in particular followed the trend of rising crude oil prices, while the prices of LPGs fell due to lower propane and butane prices during the period,” he said.
Rand to US Dollar
The department said that the Rand appreciated slightly, on average, against the US Dollar (USD) (from 17.28 to 17.00 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one.
“The stronger rand resulted in a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin at 15.97 c/l, 18.79 c/l and 19.36 c/l respectively.”
Retribution slate
“The negative slate balance on petrol and diesel amounted to R2.191 billion at the end of December 2022. A reduction in slate levy of 43.84 c/l (from 61.38 c/l to 17.54 c/l) will be implemented in the price structure. petrol and diesel, in line with the Self-Adjusting Slate Mechanism rules effective from February 1, 2023,” the department said.
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