Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has announced the latest fuel price adjustments based on current local and international factors.

From December 3, both Petrol 93 and Petrol 95 will increase by 29c/ℓ while diesel 0.05% sulphur will increase by 65.48c/ℓ and diesel 0.005% sulphur by 82.48c/ℓ.

Illuminating paraffin will increase by 74.48c/ℓ.

The maximum liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price will increase by 24c/kg nationally and by 9c/kg in the Western Cape.

The maximum refinery gate price and the maximum retail price of LPG that is imported through the Port of Saldanha Bay will, therefore, be R12 429/t and R32.99/kg, respectively.

South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted monthly, with international factors including the Brent Crude oil price and importation costs.

The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from $64.14 to $63.54 in the period under review, with the main contributing factors having been oversupply concerns.

The average international product prices of petrol were affected by lower inventories ahead of the winter season in the northern hemisphere owing to planned and unplanned refinery outages, which resulted in higher refinery margins.

These factors led to higher contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 28.97c/ℓ, 64.09c/ℓ and 72.04c/ℓ, respectively.

Moreover, the rand appreciated against the dollar, on average, from R17.29 to R17.23 in the period under review, which led to lower contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 3.36c/ℓ, 3.79c/ℓ and 3.76c/ℓ, respectively.

In respect of the slate levy, the cumulative slate amounted to a positive balance of R4.36-billion for petrol and diesel at the end of October. In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, a slate levy of zero cents per litre remains in the price structures of petrol and diesel as of December 3.

Notably, Mantashe approved a net increase of 3.6c/ℓ in the yearly margin adjustments on petrol and a net increase of 5.48c/ℓ on diesel and illuminating paraffin wholesale prices, effective December 3.