Mineral Resources and Energy Department has announced an adjustment to the fuel prices, which is set to be effective from Wednesday 04 May 2022.
The petrol price for both 93 and 95 will be cut by 12c a litre, while diesel will be hiked by 98c (0.05% sulphur) and 92c (0.005% sulphur).
Paraffin price is also expected to increase by 79.60c/l.
Local fuel prices are determined by international oil prices, as well as the dollar-rand value, as South Africa buys oil in dollars.
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Petrol and diesel prices have surged by more than a third over the past year.
The average Brent crude oil price fell from an average of $109.37 a barrel in March to $104.78 in April, thanks in part to new Covid-19 lockdowns in China, which reduced demand for crude oil.
Also, the US released some of its oil strategic stocks to curb price increases.
The Ukraine and Russia war has sparked an increase in oil, which has seen an all-time oil price shock.
Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of crude oil, and it has been locked out of Western markets, pushing oil prices higher.
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The department indicated that these factors are the cause of the rise in oil prices.
“The impact of these two factors was not that significant as the average price of crude oil only decreased slightly during the period under review and is still high,” The Department said.
Local fuel prices continue to benefit from a temporary cut of R1.50 in the general fuel levy for April and May.
The total fuel levy will remain R2.44 a litre for petrol and R2.30 for diesel in May.
temporary reduction will cost the fiscus about R6-billion in lost tax revenue for the two-month period, the Mail & Guardian previously reported.
