Petrol will increase again in June as the temporary fuel tax relief programme winds down, but diesel sees a significant decrease.
The proximate cause is geopolitical. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz which is a critical maritime route through which roughly 20% of global oil flows, sent shockwaves through energy markets from the moment the US-Iran conflict escalated. Brent crude climbed from $93.67 per barrel to a peak of $138 per barrel in April, before stabilising above $100 for much of May. By the time those prices filtered through into South Africa's fuel cost structures, the damage was already set.
What made it worse was the timing of the government's exit from its own relief intervention. In April and May, National Treasury slashed the General Fuel Levy by R3.00 per litre for petrol and R3.93 per litre for diesel as an emergency buffer. That relief is now being phased out. Effective 3 June, 50% of that tax relief was added back to the price of fuel, with petrol taxes increasing by R1.50 per litre. The remaining 50% is confirmed to expire on 1 July 2026. South Africans are being asked to absorb an international oil shock and a domestic tax reinstatement simultaneously.
