South Africa fuel prices head to record high after oil shock

South Africans will pay a record price for fuel as the latest oil shocks caused by the Iran war catch up with the monthly adjustments made by the government at the pump.

The retail price of 95-octane fuel in the province of Gauteng will climb by R3.33 ($0.20) per litre on October 7, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources said in an emailed statement. The 12% increase lifts the price at the pump to R30.25 per litre, the highest on record. The wholesale cost of diesel will increase by as much as R3.24 per litre.

Oil advanced to around $100 per barrel last month as the US and Iran continued to exchange attacks and Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline was shut by a drone attack.

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTINUE READING BELOW

While that means higher fuel prices globally, the pain can be felt more keenly in Africa where households spend proportionately more of their earnings on transportation, due to a reliance on road travel and a lack of public transport.

It could also increase pressure on the South African Reserve Bank to raise interest rates again to defend its 3% inflation target. Higher fuel prices since the start of the war in late February have already helped pushed consumer-price growth to 4.4%, prompting the central bank to raise rates twice so far this year.

© 2026 Bloomberg

#South #Africa #fuel #prices #record #high #oil #shock