Diesel reprieve short-lived as prices increase by more than R1/l in August

Diesel users are again set to pay more at the pumps in August, with a price increase of between R1.23 and R1.38 per litre written in the latest fuel price adjustments.

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) announced the changes on Monday. They will take effect on 5 August.

The higher diesel prices follow a short-lived reprieve in June and July, when prices fell from historic highs. While global oil prices improved during the period under review, July saw another upswing after a pending peace deal in the Middle East conflict fell through.

Read: July fuel prices: Petrol drops by R2, diesel by over R3

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Oil slumped by as much as 7% on Monday after US President Donald Trump said new talks with Iran would begin on the day after he called off a planned attack on the Islamic republic. This is again mimicking the back-and-forth seen earlier in the year.

Read:
Oil slumps as Trump holds off Iran attack, says talks to resume
Trump says Iran talks to begin Monday after scrapping attack

Both grades of petrol will decrease by 52 cents, but this will still keep inland and coastal prices above the R25-per-litre mark.

Illuminating paraffin will increase by more than R2 per litre at the retail level (R1.52 increase at the wholesale level). In contrast, the maximum retail price for LPGas will decrease by R4.41 per kg countrywide and R5.03 per kg in the Western Cape.

The department says the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments are as follows:

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The average Brent crude oil price decreased from $86.53 to $82.37 during the period under review. Renewed US-Iran tensions briefly pushed oil prices towards $100 a barrel. Still, the impact was offset by sharp declines in the previous month and early this month following the US-Iran ceasefire memorandum of understanding and weaker global crude demand.
The average international product prices of petrol decreased during the period under review, while the prices of diesel and illuminating paraffin increased due to supply shortages caused by Russia/Ukraine conflict, which resulted in diesel export restrictions by Russia.

“The situation was compounded by the Middle East refineries that were operating below capacity. These factors led to lower contributions to the basic fuel prices (BFP) of petrol by 6.08 cents per litre (c/l), and higher contributions to the BFP of diesel and illuminating paraffin by 182.62 cents per litre (c/l) and 143.32 c/l, respectively,” the DMPR said in a statement.

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The rand depreciated slightly on average against the dollar (from R16.34 to R16.46 per dollar) during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to higher contributions to the basic fuel prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 6.37 c/l, 8.14 c/l and 7.89 c/l, respectively.
The cumulative slate amounted to a negative balance of R7.418 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of June 2026.

“In line with the provisions of the self-adjusting slate levy mechanism, the slate levy of 61.38 c/l will be implemented in the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from 5 August 2026. The slate levy has decreased by 52.56 c/l from 113.94 to 61.38 c/l,” the department added.

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