Durban, South Africa — A coastal filling station is already displaying diesel at R29. 85 per litre, a price that local sources say foreshadows the nationwide adjustment scheduled for the first week of April. Independent observers say the roadside figure was photographed on Monday and circulated widely on social media, prompting motorists to queue for tanks before the official change.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has not yet released the formal April schedule, which is normally published during the final week of the preceding month. Official statements indicate the calculation will reflect average Brent crude movements during early March and the rand-dollar exchange recorded by the Reserve Bank over the same window. Local sources report that both benchmarks deteriorated after shipping disruptions returned to the Red Sea route, pushing global crude markers higher at a time when the domestic currency hovered near twelve-month lows.
The government stated in a communiqué last month that any combination of rising oil and a weakening rand “translates directly into higher import-parity prices”, a formula set in law and reviewed every four weeks. Regional fuel associations have therefore urged freight operators to prepare budgets on the assumption of an increase, though exact cents-per-litre figures remain unpublished. Consumers remember that diesel, widely used by taxis, buses and farms, was last adjusted downward by 46 c/litre on 6 March, while 95-octane petrol dropped 98 c.
If the new month reverses part of that relief, analysts say transportation costs could feed through to food inflation already tracking above five percent on an annual basis. Road-freight companies contacted on Monday said they would wait for the official gazette before confirming surcharges. “We price contracts monthly, so clarity by Wednesday is essential,” one logistics manager told local media.
Further details are expected once the department publishes its monthly review on or before 28 March.
