The Energy and Mineral Resources minister, Gwede Mantashe, has announced that there will be some adjustments to fuel prices at midnight tonight.
Those using 95 octane unleaded petrol will pay R1.02 less, while those using 93 fuel will get a price cut of 89 cents a litre.
The adjustment of fuel prices is based on current local and international factors, and comes into effect from October 5, 2022.
“South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted on a monthly basis, informed by international and local factors,” Mantashe said. “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, like shipping fees.”
He said the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments were due to crude oil price changes.
Mantashe said the average Brent Crude oil price decreased from US$94.00 per barrel to $89.79 a barrel during the period under review.
“The main contributing factors are: low demand from China, although they are now slowly reopening their economy. The release of crude oil stocks by the International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries; and the US, which assisted in supplementing tight supply and keeping the prices lower. Saudi Arabia cutting oil prices to compete with cheaper oil sold by Russia, and oil prices are dropping amid fears of global recession that could affect the demand for finished products,” Mantashe said.
He said when it comes to international petroleum product prices, the average international product prices of petrol, illuminating paraffin, diesel and LPG have decreased during the period under review due to a number of reasons.
“The high demand and continued low supply of diesel had led to lower decrease of diesel prices compared to petrol,” Mantashe said. “Petrol prices decreased, but by a lesser amount compared to the previous period as a result of lower inventories emanating from the routine refinery maintenance season in the northern hemisphere.
“The movement in product prices has led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Price of petrol ULP 95 by 159.99 cents/llitre; ULP 93 by 145.71 c/l; illuminating paraffin was 133.99 c/l and diesel 500ppm and 50ppm by 64.83 c/l and 60.88 c/l respectively,” he said.
When it came to the Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, the Rand depreciated on average against the US$ (from 16.70 to 17.55) Rand per US$, during the period under review, when compared to the previous one.
The Rand was at its weakest level against the US$ since May 2020.
“The situation worsened due to the recent announcement by the US Federal Reserve to increase the interest rate by 75 basis points amid continued recession fears. This resulted in more demand and a strengthening of the US$, while emerging market currencies were depicted as risky and the US$ a safer currency to accumulate. The weaker Rand led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 57.36 c/l, 74.67 c/l and 72.55 c/l respectively,” Mantashe said.
When it comes to implementation of the slate levy, Mantashe said the negative slate balance on petrol and diesel amounted to R9.7 billion in August 2022.
“The slate levy applicable in the price structures of petrol and diesel will thus remain unchanged at 83.28 cents per litre. The retail prices of 95 and 93 petrol octanes will be different in each fuel-pricing zone with effect from midnight,” Mantashe said.
The fuel prices for October 2022 will be adjusted as follows:
❖ Petrol (93 ULP and LRP): eighty-nine cents per litre (89.00 c/l) decrease
❖ Petrol (95 ULP and LRP): one hundred and two cents per litre (102.00 c/l)
decrease
* Diesel (0.05% sulphur): ten cents per litre (10.00 c/l) increase
* Diesel (0.005% sulphur): fifteen cents per litre (15.00 c/l) increase
* Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale): sixty-one cents per litre (61.00 c/l) decrease
* SMNRP for IP: eighty-two cents per litre (82.00 c/l) decrease;
* Maximum LPGas Retail Price: nineteen cents per kilogram (19.00 c/kg) increase; and the fuel prices schedule for the different zones will be published today