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South African motorists may want to fill up before Wednesday.
Fuel prices are heading sharply upwards this October, with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources confirming increases across petrol, diesel, illuminating paraffin and LPGas from 7 October.
And this one is going to hurt.
The price of 95 unleaded petrol will jump by R3.33 a litre, while 93 petrol will rise by R3.12 a litre. Diesel users are also facing a hefty increase, with 0.05% sulphur diesel climbing by about R2.84 a litre and 0.005% sulphur diesel by around R3.24 a litre.
How much are fuel prices increasing?
Here’s what changes from Wednesday, 7 October:
Petrol 93: up R3.12 a litre
Petrol 95: up R3.33 a litre
Diesel 0.05% sulphur: up about R2.84 a litre
Diesel 0.005% sulphur: up about R3.24 a litre
Illuminating paraffin at wholesale level: up R3.58 a litre
The maximum retail price of LPGas will rise by 42 cents per kilogram, and by 48 cents per kilogram in the Western Cape.
For anyone driving to work, planning a road trip or simply trying to keep the monthly budget under control, it is a sizeable jump.
Why are fuel prices going up?
A big part of the increase comes down to what is happening internationally.
The department says the average Brent crude oil price climbed from US$87.89 to US$101 during the review period, driven by continued tensions between the United States and Iran, uncertainty around oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, higher shipping costs and falling inventories.
International prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin also increased as global product inventories tightened. That pushed up their contributions to South Africa’s Basic Fuel Price considerably.
There was at least a tiny bit of help from the rand, which strengthened marginally against the US dollar during the review period, but nowhere near enough to offset the international price pressure.
The gap between the price of 93 and 95 petrol will also change across fuel-pricing zones this month as the quarterly octane differential is adjusted.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources is expected to publish the full fuel price schedule for South Africa’s different pricing zones on Tuesday, 6 October.
So, if your tank is already sitting close to empty, filling up before Wednesday might save you a fairly uncomfortable extra bill.
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