SA inflation jumps to 4% as diesel prices skyrocket by 35%

South Africa's inflation hit 4.0% in April as fuel prices soared, with diesel jumping 35.4% and airfares reaching record highs.

May 23, 2026

Gugu Myeni 2 minutes read

CONSUMERS are being dealt heavy financial blows as fuel prices continue to push the cost of living higher.

While food inflation is slowing, rising fuel prices have contributed to higher inflation, which jumped to 4.0% in April from 3.1% in March – the highest since 2024.

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Releasing the consumer price index for April, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said fuel rose by 18.2%.
Petrol went up by 15.2% and diesel by 35.4%.

“The price for inland 93-octane petrol rose from R20.19 per litre in March to R23.25 per litre in April,” shared StatsSA.

“This is the fifth-largest increase for this grade in 50 years, and the biggest this century. Motorists using diesel felt the most pain.

The average price for a litre of diesel jumped from R21.28 in March to R28.80 in April.

Passenger transport services were also not spared, with prices climbing by 3.1% between March and April, the largest monthly rise since July 2022.

“Following a 14.3% hike in March, the price of an air ticket jumped by a further 24.5%. This is the largest monthly increase in airfares since March 2008, when ticket prices rose by 32.4%,” reported StatsSA.

No fuel shortages
While consumers feel the pinch, government has reiterated that fuel supply remains stable to meet the country’s demands.

This, as efforts continue to find more sustainable solutions to provide relief against rising fuel prices as geopolitical tensions persist.

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said, while a temporary reduction in the General Fuel Levy is in place until next month, more sustainable solutions are needed.

“While South Africans have welcomed this intervention, we are fully aware that it is not a permanent solution,” said Mantashe while delivering the department’s budget vote on Tuesday.

“The reality confronting us is that South Africa remains overly dependent on imported refined petroleum products. It is neither sustainable nor just for a country with significant mineral and petroleum potential, such as ours, to remain exposed to external supply shocks in this manner,” he said.

“It is imperative that we accelerate the processing of the South African National Petroleum Company Bill [SANPC] to enable the full operationalisation of the SANPC as a strategic State-owned entity to enable meaningful and strategic State participation in the oil and gas sectors, as envisioned in the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act,” said Mantashe.

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