On March 4, the price of 93- and 95-octane petrol will increase by 20c/ℓ, diesel with a sulphur content of 0.05% will increase by 62c/ℓ, diesel with a sulphur content of 0.005% will increase by 65c/ℓ, illuminating paraffin will increase by 44c/ℓ and the single maximum national retail price for illuminating paraffin will increase by 58c/ℓ.

The maximum retail price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will increase by 23c/kg nationally and by 26c/kg in the Western Cape, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) has announced.

The department notes that the average Brent Crude oil price increased from $64.08/bl to $69.08/bl during the period under review.

The main contributing factors are the higher shipping rates, as well as the geopolitical uncertainty caused by the tension between the US and Iran, which could result in disruption of crude oil supply in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tensions between the US and Iran had been building in recent weeks. On February 28, the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, prompting the Middle Eastern country to retaliate by launching attacks on US military bases across the Middle East. This has resulted in shipping near the Strait of Hormuz coming to a halt.

Newswire Reuters reported on March 2 that about 150 ships were stranded in the area, contributing to rising oil prices. Depending on the length and severity of the conflict in the Middle East, South Africa, as an oil importer, is likely to experience further increases in fuel prices going forward.

The average international product prices followed the increasing trend of the crude oil price, the DMPR said.

These factors led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol by 37.53c/ℓ, diesel by 81.36c/ℓ and illuminating paraffin by 63.81c/ℓ.

The prices of propane and butane also increased during the period under review owing to the cold weather in the northern hemisphere and tighter global supply.

However, the rand appreciated to R16 to the dollar on average during the period under review, compared with an average of R16.31 to the dollar in the preceding period.

The DMPR says this led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol by 16.96c/ℓ, diesel by 19.20c/ℓ and illuminating paraffin by 19.21c/ℓ.

Further, the maximum refinery gate price of LPG imported through the Port of Saldanha Bay will be R13 076.49 and the maximum retail price of LPG imported through the Port of Saldanha Bay will be R33.84/kg, with effect from March 4.