On Monday, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Matashe, confirmed the steep increase in petrol and diesel prices. The new prices will be implemented from Wednesday, 1 December 2021.
Local fuel prices are determined by international oil prices and the dollar-rand value since SA buys oil in dollars. Thus, the latest petrol price hikes are greatly due to a sharp fall in the rand against the dollar, which averaged at R15.85/$ over the past month, compared to R14.72 the previous month.
“The key driver [of the higher oil price] is the higher global demand recovery amid a weaker supply response from non-OPEC and other oil producers,” the department said in a statement. “There is a mismatch between demand and supply, i.e., there is more demand for oil products than the market can supply. The US and other major oil consumers are coordinating efforts to try to lower high prices by releasing oil from their inventory stocks, while OPEC and non-OPEC members are refusing to increase oil production to match the global recovery demand.”
New petrol prices to be implented on Wednesday
Petrol will go up by 81c/litre while diesel will go up between 72c and 74c. And paraffin will also go up by 42c a litre.
In short, the fuel prices increases applicable from Wednesday, 1 December 2021, are as follows:
- 93 Unleaded Petrol — 81 cents increase
- 95 Unleaded Petrol — 81 cents increase
- 500ppm Diesel — 72.50 cents increase
- 50ppm Diesel — 74.50 cents increase
- Illuminating Paraffin — 42.20 cents increase
“It is important to appreciate that fuel prices are soaring worldwide due to persistently high crude oil prices,” the department said. “Record pump prices have been experienced in many other countries.”