The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced official fuel price data for August 2023… and it’s bad news for South African consumers in general – with diesel going up almost twice as much as petrol on Wednesday the 2nd.
In the middle of last month, the Automobile Association predicted that the cost of unleaded 95 was likely to increase by around 7 cents a litre, while diesel users were in for a “substantial” 48 cents a litre hike.
Unfortunately, the increases are bigger than that. Although the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate for the period 30 June to 27 July 2023 was 18.2801 – better than the 18.6825 during the previous period – the average international product prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin also increased notably.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced that fuel prices had to rise because, in spite of the more favourable ZAR/USD exchange rate, the average price of brent crude oil had increased to $79.75 a barrel in the period under review, compared with $75.10 per barrel the previous month.
The main reason the Brent crude oil price rose was due to the increased demand for crude oil from China and India, and tightening supply due to continued production cuts by Saudi Arabia, the department said.
“Most analysts expect the supply constraints to push the price higher in the next few weeks.” the department added, which if it materialises, may mean that petrol prices will rise again in September.
“Naturally, we remain concerned that the effect of more diesel prices will impact directly on consumers through higher prices given that this fuel is a major input cost in so many sectors,” the Automobile Association said last month.
Remember, apart from motorists’ private vehicles that operate on diesel, the transport- and agricultural industries, plus electricity generators, are major consumers of the fuel.
Fuel price increases for August 2023
As far as the increases are concerned, 93- and 95 octane petrol will rise by 37c per litre, 50ppm diesel will increase by 72c per litre and 5ppm diesel will go up by 71c per litre.
Fuel Prices in South Africa
| Fuel Type | Jul ’23 Inland | Jul ’23 Coast | Aug ’23 Inland | Aug ’23 Coast |
| Petrol Unleaded 93 | R22.06 | R21.34 | R22.43 | R21.71 |
| Petrol Unleaded 95 | R22.46 | R21.74 | R22.83 | R22.11 |
| Diesel 0.05% | R19.49 | R18.76 | R20.21 | R19.48 |
| Diesel 0.005% | R19.81 | R19.10 | R20.52 | R19.81 |
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