Petrol prices will drop on Wednesday, while diesel prices increase

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy stated on Monday that the price of 95 unleaded petrol will decrease by R1.02 per litre on Wednesday while the price of 93 petrol will decrease by 89c. As a result, the cost of 95 petrol in Gauteng will drop from a record high of R26.74 in July to R23.36 a litre. At the start of the year, the price of petrol was only R19.61.

The cost of diesel will increase by between 10 and 15 cents a litre.

Illuminating paraffin will cost 61 cents less per litre.

The cost of oil and the rand/dollar exchange rate affect fuel prices.

Over the past month, the rand has suffered significantly, falling from R17.17/$ at the beginning of September to above R18 as a result of market turbulence worldwide and unprecedented load shedding in South Africa. Fortunately for motorists, though, the price of oil has plummeted to its lowest level since January amid worries about energy demand as steep interest rate hikes limit global economic growth.

The average price of a barrel of Brent crude oil dropped from $94 in August to $89.79 in September.

Due to a worldwide scarcity of diesel, prices for diesel continue to be more volatile than those for petrol.

This is caused in part by the fact that Europe, which produces more gasoline than it consumes, imports diesel, a large portion of which comes from Russia.

The flows were stopped by the invasion of Ukraine and the accompanying sanctions. As a result, prices have increased as European nations search for alternate supplies of diesel.

In South Africa, growing truck deliveries have fueled the country's demand for diesel as a result of ongoing issues with the railways.

Load shedding has been exacerbated by a paucity of diesel supply, which made it difficult for Eskom to maintain its backup generators.