R89 Petrol Price Relief – A Small Win for South African Motorists

Good news at the pump is rare these days, but South Africans are finally getting a little breathing room. Motorists are now paying up to R89 less to fill their tanks than they were at the start of the year.

Back in February, fuel costs hit a painful high — R22.41 per litre for petrol 95 — after back-to-back hikes in January (+12c) and February (+82c). Since then, the tide has slowly turned, with most months bringing price drops instead of dreaded increases.

The Journey from February to Now

From March to August, we’ve had:

• March – 7c decrease

• April – 72c decrease

• May – 22c decrease

• June – 5c decrease

• July – 52c increase (ouch)

• August – 28c decrease

That’s five drops and just one increase, trimming a total of 82c off the price per litre. It could’ve been better — July’s spike wiped out some of the gains — but overall, motorists are still better off than they were earlier this year.

Why the Bump in July?

The mid-year upset came from instability in the Middle East. Air strikes between Israel, Iran, and the United States sparked fears of a prolonged conflict, rattling global oil markets and pushing prices upward.

Why We’re Not Seeing Bigger Savings

Fuel prices have been largely flat this year, with minor under-recoveries and over-recoveries cancelling each other out. And in June, the government raised the General Fuel Levy (GFL) for the first time in three years — R4.01 on petrol and R3.85 on diesel per litre — to help offset inflation and a scrapped VAT hike.

The GFL freeze since the pandemic had been a lifeline for households, but removing it now adds a fixed cost to every litre we buy. Scrapping the levy entirely isn’t likely — it brings in around R90 billion annually — and replacing that revenue would mean finding another tax that still impacts consumers.

The Road Ahead

Proposals to deregulate fuel pricing or review the calculation method may sound promising, but in reality, any change is unlikely to deliver dramatic savings in the short term.

For now, the best news we’ve got is that fuel is cheaper than it was at the year’s peak — even if it’s only by a little. And in today’s economy, a little relief is still worth celebrating.