The price of 95 octane petrol inceases by 37 cents per litre from today, while the price of diesel has gone up by as much as 71 cents per litre due to stronger global oil prices last month.
This means motorists are now paying R22.11 for a litre of 95 Unleaded petrol at the coast and R22.83 in the inland regions, where the slightly cheaper 93 Unleaded will now retail for R22.43.
Diesel will now carry a wholesale price of R19.82 at the coast and R20.53 inland, keeping in mind that retail prices – which vary between outlets – will be somewhat more than that.
This means putting 32 litres of petrol into a small hatchback like a Suzuki Swift or Toyota Starlet will cost you an extra R11.84, while a 42 litre refuel of a small SUV like a Toyota Urban Cruiser will cost R15.54 more.
Meanwhile, 50 litres in a midsize car such as a Toyota Corolla will cost an additional R18.50 and refuelling a larger SUV like a BMW X5 with 70 litres will carry a R25.90 penalty.
It’ll be a moerse chunk of change for those with diesel-powered bakkies and related SUVs.
For instance, putting 70 litres of 50ppm diesel into the 80 litre tank of a Toyota Hilux or Fortuner will set you back an additional R49.70. A 45 litre refuel in a smaller diesel-powered SUV like a Ford EcoSport will now cost R32 more.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said on Monday that the reason why fuel prices had to rise is because the average Brent Crude oil price increased to $79.75 (R1 425) a barrel in the period under review, from $75.10 per barrel the previous month.
The main reasons why the Brent Crude oil price rose was due to the increased demand for crude oil from China and India and tightening supply due to continued production cuts by Saudi Arabia, the department said.
“Most analysts expect the supply constraints to push the price higher in the next few weeks,” the department added, which if it materialises, may mean that petrol prices will rise again next month.