South Africa fuel prices to fall in March on stronger rand

The retail price of petrol and the wholesale price of diesel in South Africa will fall on Wednesday after the rand strengthened, the energy department said on Friday.

The price of petrol will fall by 36 cents to 13.76 rand per litre in commercial hub Gauteng province. Diesel will go down by 47 cents to 12.09 rand.

With the new development, South Africans will be able to save a little on their fuel bills from Wednesday‚ when the price of petrol is set to drop.

But it is only a small reprieve the increase to fuel taxes announced by the former finance minister in the recent budget speech will kick off on April 1.

In April‚ an additional 22c/l will be added to the fuel levy‚ while the contribution to the road accident fund will rise by 30c/l.

This will add 52c/l to fuel prices‚ and is separate from the usual increase or decrease in the monthly fuel prices as adjusted by the Central Energy Fund.

The prices of diesel will fall 47c/l and 44c/l‚ for 0.05% and 0.005% sulphur content‚ respectively.

The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will drop 23c/l‚ while the retail price will fall 30c.

The maximum retail price of liquid petroleum gas will fall by 69c a kilogramme.