APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has announced that the petrol price of 93 octane has decreased by 62 cents a litre, while the price of 95 octane has decreased by 76 cents a litre starting on Wednesday due to lower fuel prices on the world market.
In the announcement, the minister said the price of 0.05% sulphur diesel has also come down by 118.32 cents a litre, while that for 0.005% sulphur diesel has come down by 126.32 cents a litre.
In the new prices, lighting paraffin (wholesale) has decreased by 93 cents per litre, and the single maximum national retail price for paraffin has come down by 124 cents per litre, Mantashe said.
The fuel price adjustments were due to low crude oil prices, low international petroleum product prices, the slight low value of the local rand currency against the US dollar on the exchange market rate, the implementation of the slate levy, and the octane differential between 95 and 93 petrol grades, he added.
He noted that the average brent crude oil price has decreased from US$82.62 to $77.35 per barrel during the period under review.
This was mainly due to increased production by the U.S., Venezuela, Guyana, and other non-OPEC countries despite the announcement by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production, the minister said.
“The average international product prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin has decreased in line with the lower crude oil prices worldwide,” he said.
The exception to the rule, however, was the increase in high prices of cooking gas by 11 cents per kg due higher freight costs, the minister said.
NM/jn/APA