Fleet owners and motorists will get some relief at the pumps as the price of all grades of petrol and diesel are set to decrease at midnight on Wednesday.
Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, announced the latest adjustment to fuel prices based on current local and international factors with effect from 7 May.
The price of petrol 93 (ULP and LRP) will decrease by 22 cents a litre, while the price of 95 (ULP and LRP) will also drop by 22 cents a litre.
A litre of high octane 95, which currently costs R21.62 in Gauteng, will decrease to R21.40, while at the coast the price will drop from R20.79 a litre to R20.57.
The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) will decrease by 42 cents a litre, and diesel (0.005% sulphur) will decline by 41 cents a litre.
The price of illuminating paraffin (wholesale) will decrease by 31 cents per litre.
The Single Maximum National Retail Price (SMNRP) for illuminating paraffin will drop by 41 cents per litre, and the maximum LPGas retail price will increase by 46 cents per kilogram.
“The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from 71.04 US Dollars (USD) to 66.40 USD during the period under review,” said the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.
The department added that the United States’ trade war, which has raised global economic recession concerns, a forecast of lowered demand, oversupply from non-OPEC countries, and an anticipated increase in oil production by OPEC+ members were the main contributing factors for the fuel price adjustments.
“The average international petroleum product prices of petrol and diesel followed the decreasing trend of crude oil prices, while the price of LPG increased due to higher freight (shipping costs) during the period under review,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za