Motorists will have to dig much deeper in their pockets after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced an increase in the petrol and diesel prices.
The department announced that both grades of petrol 93 and 95 octane will increase by 28 cents per from Wednesday, 1 February 2023.
The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) increases by 9.16 cents per litre while diesel with (0.005% sulphur) decreases by 0.84 cent per litre.
Meanwhile, illuminating paraffin will cost 58 cents more per litre, while the price of LP gas decreases by R1.40 per kilogram.
Reason for increases
The DMRE spokesperson Robert Maake said there were several international and local factors that contributed to the petrol price increase.
“The movement in international refined petroleum product prices, diesel and illuminating paraffin in particular, followed the decreasing trend in crude oil prices while the prices of petrol increased during the period under review,” he explained.
ALSO READ: Keen on diesel but not a SUV? Here are SA’s five cheapest oil burners
Brent Crude price
Maake said the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments are in the increase of the Brent Crude price.
“The average Brent Crude oil price increased from 85.08 US Dollars (USD) per barrel to 86.16 USD per barrel during the period under review. The main contributing factor is the re-opening of the Chinese economy.”
“The movement in international refined petroleum product prices, diesel, petrol and illuminating paraffin in particular followed the increasing trend in crude oil prices, while the prices of LPGas decreased due to lower propane and butane prices during the period under review,” he said.
Rand to US Dollar
The department said 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 led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 15.97 c/l, 18.79 c/l and 19.36 c/l respectively.”
Slate levy
“The negative slate balance on petrol and diesel amounted to R2.191 billion at the end of December 2022. A slate levy decrease of 43.84 c/l (from 61.38 c/l to 17.54 c/l) will be implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel, in line with the Self-Adjusting Slate Mechanism rules effective from the 1st of February 2023,” the department said.
ALSO READ: Hybrid boosted Haval Jolion HEV officially priced
