Tank goodness: Petrol and diesel prices tumble from 1 July

It’s already that time of the month again, huh? Time for the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) to adjust the country’s fuel prices. Those will only hit the country’s pumps this Wednesday, 1 July. In the meantime, you’ll want to hold off visiting the nearest garage ’til tomorrow morning. We’re in for some price cuts.

And not just those aimed at the country’s diesel drivers either. This July, everyone will get a turn to brag about paying less at the pumps than they did a week ago. Sure, the diesel drivers have more excuse to brag with a R3.59/l price cut waiting in the wings — but petrol drivers won’t turn their noses up at what’s waiting, either.

Good news, everyone!

We can thank the falling price of oil for this round of decreases. As ever, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) tracks those factors most important in the monthly fuel price adjustments, and oil prices are right up there. These rose drastically earlier this year after the Strait of Hormuz closed, and are only now beginning to fall back to normal.

Normal being under $70/barrel, the lowest it’s been since February of this year. The CEF also tracks the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, which contributed an admittedly small amount to the price decreases below. Still, these cuts aren’t quite as big as they could have been.

We’re of course talking about the National Treasury putting an end to its fuel levy relief scheme, which was only implemented to help offset the massive petrol price increases earlier this year. The relief is now officially set to come to an end this July, adding R1.50/l and R1.97/l back onto the price of petrol and diesel, respectively.

Even with the National Treasury raining on all our parades, the cuts below are still worthy of celebration.

“The average international product prices for Petrol, Diesel and Illuminating Paraffin decreased during the period under review. The Rand appreciated against the US Dollar during the period under review, on average, when compared to the previous period. The average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate for the period 29 May 2026 to 25 June 2026 was 16.3774 compared to 16.5197 during the previous period. This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 11.405 c/l, 13.497 c/l, 13.369 c/l respectively.”