Motorists will pay more for petrol, diesel and paraffin from Wednesday.
The increases can be attributed to a cocktail of rising crude oil prices, stronger global demand, and geopolitical tensions pushing fuel costs higher.
Here’s what you’ll pay from Wednesday
Both grades of petrol, 93 and 95, in unleaded and lead replacement form, will increase by 20 cents per litre.
Diesel will see steeper hikes: the 0.05% sulphur grade goes up by 62 cents per litre, while the cleaner 0.005% sulphur variant rises by 65 cents per litre.
Illuminating paraffin, used by many low-income households for cooking and heating, will increase by 44 cents per litre at wholesale level, with the suggested maximum national retail price rising by 58 cents per litre.
For LPGas, Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) spokesperson Robert Maake confirmed the Maximum Retail Price rises by 23 cents per kilogram nationally.
“In the Western Cape, where LPGas is imported through the Port of Saldanha Bay, the increase will be 26 cents per kilogram, with the Maximum Retail Price set at R33.84 per kilogram and the Maximum Refinery Gate Price at R13 076.49,” he said.
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Why fuel prices are going up this month
South Africa adjusts its fuel prices every month based on a combination of international and local economic factors.
Maake said the latest increases reflect shifting conditions in global oil markets.
“The average Brent Crude oil price increased from 64.08 US Dollars to 69.08 USD during the period under review,” Maake said.
He attributed the climb largely to elevated shipping rates and growing instability in a critical global oil corridor.
“The main contributing factors are the higher shipping rates as well as the geopolitical uncertainty caused by the tension between the US and Iran, which could result in disruption of crude oil supply in the Strait of Hormuz,” Maake said.
International petroleum product prices followed suit, rising in line with crude. This pushed up the Basic Fuel Price contributions for petrol by 37.53 cents per litre, diesel by 81.36 cents per litre, and illuminating paraffin by 63.81 cents per litre.
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A stronger rand softened the blow, but not enough
While global oil dynamics drove prices up, the rand’s performance against the dollar provided some relief.
The local currency appreciated from R16.31 to R16.00 to the dollar during the period under review, a modest but meaningful shift.
Maake noted the currency movement added to, rather than reduced, costs in rand terms due to how the Basic Fuel Price is structured.
The rand appreciation contributed increases of 16.96 cents per litre for petrol, 19.20 cents per litre for diesel, and 19.21 cents per litre for illuminating paraffin to the Basic Fuel Prices.
On the LPGas front, both propane and butane saw price increases. “The prices of Propane and Butane increased during the period under review due to the cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere and tighter global supply,” Maake said.
The slate levy stays at zero
One factor that did not add to consumers’ pain this month is the slate levy, a mechanism used to recover or return over- or under-recoveries in the fuel pricing system.
Maake confirmed the cumulative slate balance stood at a positive R5.9 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of January 2026.
“In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, the slate levy remains unchanged at zero cents per litre in the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from the 4th of March 2026,” he said.
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