The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced that the price of both grades of petrol will decrease by R2.06 per litre, while diesel is to drop by between R2.68 (500ppm) and R2.80 (50ppm).

The new prices, effective from Wednesday, mean that a litre of 95 unleaded petrol will now cost R20.75 at the coast and R21.40 inland. 93 unleaded now costs R21.10.

The wholesale price of 50ppm diesel is set to drop to R20.79, although retail prices, which vary between outlets, will be higher.

The price of Illuminating Paraffin (wholesale) will drop by R1.93, while the Single Maximum National Retail price (SMNRP) for Illuminating Paraffin will drop by R2.58 per litre.

The Maximum LPGas Retail Price, on the other hand, will increase by 82 cents per kilogram.

The department attributed the adjustment in prices to various international and local factors, including the decrease in the Brent Crude oil price and international petroleum product prices; the slight appreciation of the rand against the US dollar, and the implementation of the slate levy (a decrease of 21.90 c/l -- from 83.28 c/l to 61.38 c/l – which will be implemented into the price structures of petrol and diesel effective 4 January).

Source: South African Government News Agency