South Africa has revised its wholesale diesel price for May after identifying a calculation error that overstated the increase, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources said.
The government now says the wholesale diesel price will rise by 5.27 rand ($0.3169) per litre, instead of the 6.19 rand increase announced a day earlier.
The department attributed the discrepancy to an error in applying a fuel levy adjustment. A planned reduction of 93.00 cents per litre in the diesel levy was incorrectly recorded as just 0.93 cents per litre during the calculation process, leading to an inflated price hike.
Fuel prices in Africa’s most industrialised economy are reviewed monthly, based on a formula that factors in global oil prices and exchange rate movements of the rand.
The correction comes after the government moved to extend fuel tax cuts for May and June to shield consumers from rising energy costs linked to the conflict involving Iran.
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The revised pricing is expected to provide some relief to businesses and households already facing higher transport and logistics costs, though diesel prices remain elevated compared to earlier in the year.
