Fuel good news: Petrol and diesel prices to drop from Wednesday, 7 May

Picture of Faizel Patel

By Faizel Patel

Senior Journalist


Motorists will get much-needed relief at the petrol pumps next week.


South African motorists will be paying less for petrol and diesel at the pumps from next week.

The petrol price decrease from Wednesday, 7 May 2025, will be a relief for cash-strapped motorists.

Petrol and diesel prices

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced that the price of 93-octane will decrease by 22 cents per litre (c/l), while 95-octane petrol will also cost 22c less per litre.

The price of diesel (0.05% sulphur) decreases by 42c/l, while diesel with 0.005% sulphur goes down by 41c/l.

Meanwhile, illuminating paraffin will cost 31c less per litre, while the price of LP gas increases by 46c/kg.

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How much will fuel cost you?

When the fuel price adjustment kicks in, a litre of 93 unleaded petrol will cost R21.29 per litre, while 95 unleaded will be R21.40.

The wholesale price of 0.05% diesel will decrease to R18.93 per litre, and 0.005% will cost R18.91.

Reasons for petrol decrease

DMRE spokesperson Robert Maake said several factors, including the international petroleum product prices and the rand/US dollar exchange rate, contributed to the decrease in petrol and diesel prices.

“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.

“These factors led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 51.06 cents per litre (c/l), 71.28 c/l and 61.32 c/l respectively,” Maake said.

Brent Crude oil price

Maake said the average Brent Crude oil price decreased from $71.04 to $66.40 during the period under review.

“The tariff and trade war initiated by the US which has raised global economic recession concerns and a possible lower demand for crude oil, and oversupply of oil from non-OPEC countries and the anticipated increase in oil production by OPEC+ members.”

Rand/US dollar exchange

Maake said the the rand depreciated on average, against the US dollar (from R18.30 to R18.84 per US dollar) during the period under review when compared to the previous one.

“This led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 29.13 c/l, 30.34 c/l and 30.24 cents per litre (c/l) respectively”.

Slate levy

Maake said the cumulative slate amounted to a positive balance of R3.9 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of March 2025.

“In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, a slate levy remains unchanged at zero cents per litre in the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from the 7th of May 2025”.

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