South African motorists woke up to good news on Wednesday as they found that petrol prices had dropped by 71 cents per litre while diesel cost 67 cents less.
In a statement, the Ministry of Energy attributed the drop to the decline in international oil prices and a weakening Rand exchange rate over the past month.
The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from US$83 to US$76 per barrel during the period under review.
The main contributing factors to the fall in oil prices were the announcement by the United States to release up to 50 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserve to boost supply and the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which prompted worries about new movement restrictions that would reduce oil demand.
The South African Rand depreciated from 15.40 to 15.92 against the US dollar during the past month, making it cheaper to import fuel.
The reduction in fuel prices comes as great relief for holidaymakers that plan to return home from holidays, the office said.
Meanwhile, the wholesale price of illuminating paraffin decrease by 71 cents per litre, it said, adding that cooking gas decreased by 70 cents per kg.
NM/jn/APA