From midnight tonight, South Africans will wake up to the steepest fuel price increases in recent memory – driven by rising global oil prices, a weakening rand and billions in accumulated under-recoveries.
By Maile Matsimela, digital editor at African Farming
As of midnight tonight, the price of fuel across the country will jump by margins not seen in a single monthly adjustment in years – a crushing reminder of how vulnerable South Africa remains to the forces of global oil markets and a fragile currency.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, through CEF (SOC) Ltd, confirmed on 30 April 2026 that the new prices will take effect from Wednesday, 6 May 2026, and will remain in place until 2 June 2026.
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In Gauteng and other inland areas, 95 ULP petrol will climb from R23.36 to R26.63 per litre – an increase of R3.27 per litre. Its close cousin, 93 ULP, will rise by the same margin from R23.25 to R26.52 per litre. Along the coast, the numbers are slightly more forgiving but no less painful: 95 ULP moves from R22.49 to R25.76 per litre, and 93 ULP from R22.46 to R25.73 per litre. Either way, South Africans are about to spend significantly more every time they visit the pump.
Diesel Surge Spells Trouble For Agriculture, Transport And Mining
Diesel tells an even grimmer story. Inland, the 0.05% sulphur grade will surge from R25.90 to R32.09 per litre – a staggering R6.19 increase in a single month. The 0.005% sulphur grade follows a near-identical trajectory, rising from R26.11 to R32.30 per litre. On the coast, diesel prices will move from R25.03 to R31.22 per litre and from R25.35 to R31.54 per litre respectively. For an industry that runs on diesel – trucking, agriculture, mining, construction – these are not abstract numbers. They translate directly into higher operating costs that will, inevitably, find their way into the price of everything else.
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The Department points to three converging forces that struck simultaneously during the review period running from 27 March to 29 April 2026. Firstly, international product prices rose sharply on global markets. Secondly, the rand offered little help, depreciating to average R16.65 to the dollar. But it is the third factor that has industry analysts most concerned – a slate levy of 122.70 cents per litre, activated because the combined cumulative under-recovery had ballooned to a staggering negative R14.17 billion by the end of March 2026.
The government has not left motorists entirely without relief. The temporary R3.00 per litre reduction on the general fuel levy for petrol has been extended through to 2 June 2026. The temporary diesel relief has also been expanded – increasing by 93 cents to R3.93 per litre. Without these interventions, the numbers at the pump would have been even higher.
The economic consequences will be felt well beyond the forecourt. Transport costs will rise. Food prices will follow. And for ordinary South Africans navigating an already difficult cost-of-living environment, tomorrow morning represents yet another step in the wrong direction.
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