PUMP SQUEEZE: SA motorists can’t escape the petrol price pain in September

Yes, the randela got stronger against the dollar when you average out the exchange rate over August, and that usually means that petrol should be cheaper, but it also isn’t that simple.

This strengthening of the rand acted as a crucial financial cushion, reducing the impact of the global price hikes by more than 20c per litre across the entire domestic consumer energy stack – even kissing 30c savings on diesel.

While the stronger rand did its best to cushion South Africans, the global refined fuel price hikes were simply too aggressive.

When you subtract the rand’s savings from the global product price increases, we are left with a net Basic Fuel Price (BFP) under-recovery of R1.06 on petrol and R2.71 on the diesel side.

Wait, how much extra am I paying?

Petrol (Both 93 and 95 Octane, ULP & LRP): An increase of 134.00 cents per litre (R1.34/l).
Diesel 0.05% Sulphur: An increase of 293.90 cents per litre (R2.94/l).
Diesel 0.005% Sulphur: An increase of 314.90 cents per litre (R3.15/l).
Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale): An increase of 213.00 cents per litre (R2.13/l).
Illuminating Paraffin Single Maximum National Retail Price (SMNRP): An increase of 284.00 cents per litre (R2.84/l).
LP Gas: An increase of 69.00 cents per kilogram (R0.69/kg).

For our inland brethren

Petrol 95 ULP: R26.92 per litre (up from R25.58/l).
Petrol 93 ULP & LRP: R26.76 per litre (up from R25.42/l).
LP Gas (Inland Zone 9C): R37.39 per kilogram (up from R36.70/kg).
Diesel 0.05% Sulphur: R29.11 per litre (up from R26.17/l).
Diesel 0.005% Sulphur: R29.56 per litre (rounded from 2,955.510 c/l, up from R26.41/l).
Illuminating Paraffin (Wholesale): R20.89 per litre (rounded from 2,089.098 c/l, up from R18.76/l).
Illuminating Paraffin (SMNRP): R27.05 per litre (up from R24.21/l).

And due to this under-recovery, the cumulative Slate balance (the difference between what was charged at the beginning of the month and the actual price that the products were bought for) at the end of July 2026 was in a negative balance of R9.519-billion (consisting of a negative R1.264-billion for petrol and a negative R8.256-billion for diesel).

Because the deficit is well above the R500.0-million threshold, the Slate Levy will increase from 61.38 c/l to 83.28 c/l, adding 21.90 cents per litre to the cost of both petrol and diesel.

This levy does not apply to Illuminating Paraffin.

Where does this leave us?

Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe also approved a 4.90 cents per litre increase in the retail margin of all grades of petrol to accommodate wage increases for service station staff, including pump attendants, cashiers and administrative personnel.

To put it simply, South African motorists face a double blow on 2 September 2026.

Roughly 80% of the petrol price hike (R1.07/l of the R1.34/l increase) and 93% of the diesel price hike (R2.72/l of the R2.94/l increase) is due to international refined product price increases on the global market.

The remaining portion is driven by domestic costs: funding wage increases for petrol station workers (4.90c/l) and paying off the country’s massive accumulated fuel import deficit through the Slate Levy (21.90c/l).

Why? Because SA does not refine enough fuel domestically, meaning we import finished products (like petrol, diesel and paraffin) from international markets at full market rate. DM