Here is the official petrol price for May

The Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has published the official fuel price adjustments that will take effect on Wednesday, 7 May 2025.

April saw steep declines in global oil prices as markets got rattled by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade wars, while the rand weakened slightly amid the shocks.

Despite the rand’s weakness, lower oil prices have translated to a cut in fuel prices in May, undone only slightly by a hike in taxes.

Prices will be cut by 22 cents per litre for 93 and 95 petrol, respectively and between 41 and 42 cents per litre for diesel.

The table below outlines the changes:

Local fuel prices are largely driven by international product prices, which are determined by global oil prices and the rand/dollar exchange.

The average Brent crude oil price declined from $71.04 to $66.40 over the month.

“This was due to the tariff and trade war initiated by the US, which has raised global economic recession concerns and a possible lower demand for crude oil,’ the DMRE said in a statement.

Oil prices are under pressure as the risk of global recessions will weigh on fuel demand, while a shock OPEC+ decision to raise production has triggered sharp falls.

The average international product prices for petrol, diesel and illuminated paraffin decreased during the period under review.

The oil price weakness helped to neutralise an initial blowout in the rand-dollar rate, which almost reached R19.90 earlier this month.

This was due to shocks over new US tariffs and fears that the DA will leave the business-friendly government of national unity.

On average, the Rand depreciated against the US Dollar during the period under review compared to the previous period.

The average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate from 28 March 2025 to 01 May 2025 was 18.8382, compared to 18.2957 during the previous period.

This led to a higher contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 29.13 c/l, 30.34 c/l, 30.24 c/l, respectively.

Other changes

During his March Budget speech, the Minister of Finance announced that the Fuel Levy on petrol and diesel will remain the same at 396.00 c/l and 384 c/l, respectively, while the Road Accident Fund (RAF) Levy on both petrol and diesel will remain at 218.00 c/l in his Budget Speech on the 12th of March 2025.

However, the carbon fuel levy increased by 3.00 c/l to 14c/l for petrol and 17c/l for diesel. Consequently, the fuel levies increased to 399.00 c/l on petrol and 387.00 c/l on diesel, which came into effect on 2 April 2025.

The slate levy remains unchanged at zero cents per litre in the price structures of petrol and diesel.

This is how the price changes will reflect at the pumps (Diesel prices reflect wholesale, pump prices will differ):