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A drop in fuel prices is always music to motorists and commuters as well. As the country battles affordability and high inflation, the decrease in fuel prices is a relief.
The Minister for the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe announced the fuel prices adjustment on Monday, 2 February 2026. A number of international and domestic factors were considered.
Despite the onslaught by the United States on South Africa, the Rand is performing much better against the US Dollar. According to the department, the Rand appreciated on average, against the US Dollar (from 16.85 to 16.31 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one. This led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and Illuminating Paraffin by 28.52 c/l, 31.62 c/l and 31.86 c/l respectively.
The average Brent Crude oil price increased from 61.47 US Dollars (USD) to 64.08 USD during the period under review. The main contributing factors are the geopolitical uncertainty caused by various events relating to Iran, Greenland, Kazakhstan and Venezuela that gave rise to a risk premium and the extreme cold weather conditions which disrupted production in the US.
The average international product prices decreased due to availability of inventories, despite increase in crude oil prices. These factors led to lower contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 36.46 c/l, 24.59 c/l and 21.13 c/l respectively. The prices of Propane and Butane increased during the period under review due to the cold weather in the Northern Hemisphere and tighter global supply.
Based on current local and international factors, the fuel prices for February 2026 will be adjusted as follows:
❖ Petrol 93 (ULP & LRP): Sixty-five cents per litre (65.00 c/l) decrease.
❖ Petrol 95 (ULP &LRP): Sixty-five cents per litre (65.00 c/l) decrease.
❖ Diesel (0.05% sulphur): Fifty cents per litre (50.00 c/l) decrease.
❖ Diesel (0.005% sulphur): Fifty-seven cents per litre (57.00 c/l) decrease.
❖ Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale): Fifty-three cents per litre (53.00 c/l) decrease.
❖ SMNRP for IP: Seventy cents per litre (70.00 c/l) decrease.
❖ Maximum Retail Price of LPGas: Thirty-one cents per kilogram (31.00 c/kg) increase and Thirty-six cents per kilogram (36.00 c/kg) increase in the Western Cape.
