South Africa fuel prices: Here’s how much a litre will cost from Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Fuel prices in South Africa will decrease slightly from Wednesday, 5 March 2025, following the latest announcement from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. 

Fuel prices in South Africa: Official adjustments from Wednesday, 5 March 2025

PLEASE NOTE: The petrol price adjustments listed below are directly quoted from the Department of Energy’s monthly press release. Despite our best efforts to ensure accurate reporting, it is still the sole responsibility of the reader to double-check petrol prices. Swisher Post, its parent company, partners and affiliates shall not be held liable for any consequence that arises from the journalistic duties performed in sharing this content.

Motorists and households that rely on fuel will see minor reductions in petrol, diesel, and illuminating paraffin prices.

• Petrol 95 ULP and Petrol 93 ULP and LRP will decrease by R0.07 per litre.
• Diesel 0.05% sulphur will drop by R0.18 per litre.
• Diesel 0.005% sulphur will decrease by R0.24 per litre.
• Illuminating paraffin will drop by R0.06 per litre at wholesale level, with a reduction of R0.08 per litre at retail level.
• LPGAS will decrease by R0.02 per kilogram, making gas slightly cheaper for households and businesses.

Here’s a look at the official fuel price adjustments for March:

Inland

Coastal

The price adjustments will provide minor relief for motorists, businesses, and households. Diesel users, including those in transport and agriculture, will benefit the most from the reductions, as their costs will decrease slightly. Petrol users will see a small drop in prices, though not enough to make a significant impact on overall expenses.

For households that rely on paraffin for cooking and heating, the reduction will help lower daily living costs, even if only by a small margin. LPGAS users will also pay slightly less, though the change is minimal.

These fuel price adjustments are an indication of a somewhat stable international oil market and an improving exchange rate.

The final fuel prices for April 2025 will depend on how these factors continue to change in the coming weeks. For now, South Africans can expect a slight easing in fuel costs from Wednesday, 5 March 2025.

Factors impacting fuel prices in March 2025

Several factors have contributed to the slight decrease in fuel prices this month. The most significant include changes in global oil prices, fluctuations in the exchange rate, and adjustments to refining costs.

International oil prices play a major role in determining South Africa’s fuel prices. Over the past month, global petrol prices have increased slightly, which placed some pressure on local fuel costs. However, diesel prices on the international market dropped, helping to offset some of these increases.

The exchange rate between the South African rand and the US dollar is another key factor. During the review period, the rand strengthened against the US dollar, averaging R18.50 per US dollar compared to R18.73 in the previous period.

This improvement in the exchange rate helped reduce the cost of importing fuel, contributing to the overall decrease in prices.

The slate levy, which is sometimes used to balance fuel price fluctuations, remains unchanged at 0 cents per litre. This means there were no additional adjustments needed to cover past under-recoveries.

The illuminating paraffin dye levy has also been adjusted. It was temporarily increased to 1 cent per litre in 2024 but has now been reduced to 0.5 cents per litre from 5 March 2025.

What goes into the final retail price of fuel in South Africa?

Determining the final retail price of petrol in South Africa relies heavily on the rand’s performance in currency markets and oil price movements.

Using this information, the CEF can formulate basic fuel price (BFP) estimates which, in essence, offer South African importers a snapshot into the cost of buying petrol from an international refinery, transporting the product and ensuring it against possible losses at sea and on land.

However, before the retail price of petrol is finalised at petrol stations, several additional costs are included in the BFP:

Government levies

• IP tracer levy (reimbursement to the oil industry for buying IP tracer dye and injecting it into IP to curtail the mixing of IP and diesel)
• General Fuel levy (tax levied by the government)
• Slate levy (to finance the cumulative under-recovery of the industry)
• RAF levy (to compensate for people involved in road crashes and accidents)
• Petroleum products levy (reimbursement to the pipeline users for the applicable NERSA tariff on transporting fuel through the pipeline)

Additional costs

• Wholesale margin (markup to the price of a product to account for wholesaling costs)
• Service cost recoveries
• Storage, handling and delivery costs
• Distribution costs
• Dealers margin (commission to the fuel pump dealers for retail operation)
• Zone differential (applicable to inland regions)
• Customs and excise duty

Petrol price adjustments are generally made on the first Wednesday of every month by the Department of Energy.