Petrol down, but diesel up in August – here’s what you’ll pay

South African motorists may have to dig deep into their pockets at the fuel pumps from Wednesday, 5 August 2026. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced that the prices of both 93-octane and 95-octane petrol will decrease by 52 cents per litre. However, the price of diesel with 0.05% (500ppm) sulphur will increase by R1.38 per litre, while 0.005% (50ppm) sulphur will go up by R1.23 per litre.

Meanwhile, illuminating paraffin will cost R1.52 more per litre, while the price of LP gas will decrease by R4.41 cents per kilogramme countrywide and by R5.03 per kg in the Western Cape. When the fuel price adjustment kicks in, a litre of 93 unleaded petrol will cost R25.42 per litre, while 95 unleaded petrol will be R25.58 per litre. The wholesale price of 0.05% (500ppm) diesel will increase to R26.16 per litre, and 0.005% (50ppm) will cost R26.40 per litre.

DMREspokesperson Robert Maake stated that several factors, including international petroleum product prices and the rand-dollar (United States dollar) exchange rate, contributed to the decrease in petrol and diesel prices. Maake said the average Brent crude oil price decreased from $86.53 to $82.37 during the period under review. Maake said 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 the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which resulted in diesel export restrictions by Russia.

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“The situation was compounded by the Middle East refineries that were operating below capacity. These factors led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Price (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 prices of propane and butane decreased during the period under review.” Maake said the rand depreciated slightly on average against the US dollar during the period under review, compared with the previous one. This led to higher contributions to the Basic Fuel Price of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 6.37 c/l, 8.14 c/l and 7.89 c/l respectively.

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