STILL reeling from last month’s fuel hikes, South Africans will have to dig deeper into their wallets as another round of fuel price increases will come into effect on May 6.

Also read: Minister says fuel reserves are stable

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) confirmed today (May 4) that the price of both grades of petrol will increase by R3.27 per litre, while diesel is set to go up by R6.19.

Following the increases, motorists will have to pay a whopping R25.80 per litre of 95 Unleaded petrol at the coast and R26,33 inland, while 93 Unleaded will cost around R26.52. The wholesale price of 50ppm diesel is set to rise to around R31.54 at the coast and inland, R32.30, with the retail margins adding a further R2.50 to R3 depending on the outlet.

This is despite projections from the Central Energy Fund initially pointing to increases of just around R2.04 for 95 Unleaded and R4.96 a litre for 50ppm diesel.

Also read: Heavy fuel hikes affect motorists’ pockets

This sets a new high for diesel, though the petrol prices in July 2022 soared to R26.09 at the coast following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During that time, the price dropped to R21.71 within the span of three months as international oil prices reduced in price.

Should there be no resolution to the war in the Middle East, South Africans may be in for further price shocks in June and July.

Motorists are expected to sustain yet another blow as the government’s temporary fuel tax reprieve of R3 per litre of petrol will be halved to R1.50 per litre of petrol and R1.96 per litre of diesel in June, before falling away in July.

The National Treasury and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced last week that the R3 fuel tax relief would remain in place for petrol in May, while diesel would see a further 93c reprieve for the month.

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