Motorists are in for more pain at the fuel pumps in September, after the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources officially announced across-the-board increases, which will come into effect on Wednesday, 2 September 2026.

The conflicts involving the US and Iran, alongside the Russia/Ukraine war, are driving up global fuel costs by disrupting major oil supplies and refining operations.

Both grades of petrol will increase by R1.34 a litre. Diesel will rise by between R2.94 and R3.15, depending on the sulphur content.

Meanwhile, illuminating paraffin will increase by R2.84 a litre at retail level, and the maximum retail price of LPGas will rise by 79 cents per kilogram in the Western Cape.

The Department listed some of the main reasons for the increases:

1. The average Brent Crude oil price increased from $82.37 to $87.88 during the period under review, due to the continued US/Iran conflict.
2. The average international product prices of petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin increased due to supply shortages caused by the continued Russia/Ukraine conflict. Russia has banned all diesel exports to create a domestic buffer.
3. The implementation of the slate levy. According to the Department, the cumulative slate amounted to a negative balance of R9.519 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of July 2026. In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, the slate levy of 83.28 c/l will be implemented in the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from 2 September.
4. The Minister approved a 4.9 c/l increase (from 315.1 c/l to 320.0 c/l) in the price structures of petrol to accommodate the wage increase for Forecourt employees.
5. The Rand strength actually helped prevent an even bigger increase. The local currency appreciated on average against the US Dollar (from 16.46 to 16.21 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 21.07 c/l, 29.06 c/l and 26.69 c/l respectively.