Petrol Price Relief. Due to the rand’s positive performance against the dollar, petrol prices have decreased for the month of March according to the Department of Energy.

The Department of Energy announced that the rand has appreciated against the US dollar (from R12.20 to R11.82 per US dollar) during the period under review.

As a result, petrol prices have dropped by 36 cents a litre, while diesel has declined by between 44 cents and 47 cents per litre.

The retail price for illuminating paraffin is now between 23 cents and 30 cents while liquefied petroleum gas dropped by 69 cents.

In line with the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism Rules, the Slate levy on petrol and diesel will remain at 0.00 c/l with effect in March.

The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from 69.6 USD to 65.5 USD per barrel during the period under review. The Crude Oil prices reached a three-year high of $70/bbl several times during January and the weakening dollar in March means that prices for petroleum products were lowered internationally.