South African motorists can expect some relief at the pumps this week, as the price of all grades of petrol is set to decrease by between 62 and 66 cents per litre from January 7.

According to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, petrol 93 (ULP & LRP) will drop by 62 cents per litre, while petrol 95 (ULP & LRP) will decrease by 66 cents per litre.

In Gauteng, the new price of petrol 95 will be R20.75 per litre, down from R21.41. Along the coast, a litre of petrol 95 will cost R19.92.

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Diesel prices will also come down, with diesel (0.05% sulphur) decreasing by R1.37 per litre and diesel (0.005% sulphur) falling by R1.50 per litre. Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale) will drop by R1.10 per litre, with the Western Cape seeing a decrease of R1.48 per litre.

However, the Maximum Retail Price of LPGas will increase slightly, by 21 cents per kilogram nationwide and 23 cents per kilogram in the Western Cape.

The department attributed the decreases to a fall in the average Brent Crude oil price, which dropped from 63.55 US Dollars (USD) to 61.47 USD during the period under review.

“The main contributing factor is the oversupply of oil in the market due to increased production by OPEC+ and non-OPEC producers,” the department said in a statement on January 4.

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It added that international product prices of petrol mirrored the declining crude oil trend. Middle distillates such as diesel and paraffin decreased more significantly due to higher inventories in the Northern Hemisphere ahead of winter, contributing to a reduction in the Basic Fuel Prices by 45.03 c/l for petrol, 126.97 c/l for diesel, and 87.96 c/l for paraffin. Conversely, prices of propane and butane rose due to tighter global supply.

The drop in fuel prices comes shortly after increases in December, offering a welcome reprieve for South African consumers in the new year.