Petrol price triples in a decade

By James de Villiers for Business Insider SA 

The price of a litre of petrol in South Africa increased from R6.92 in July 2008 to R15.53 in July 2018 at the coast, and from R7.16 to R16.02 inland – nearly tripling in the last decade.

Infographic: Fin24

Over the same period, the tax (or fuel levy) on a litre of petrol increased from a low of R1.27 in July 2008 to R3.37 in July 2018.

This means the tax on fuel increased by 165.35% in 10 years.

On Sunday, the department of energy announced that a litre of unleaded petrol will increase by 26c, pushing the price of a litre past R16 in the inland for the first time.

Energy Minister Jeff Radebe ascribed the increasing petrol price to the rand’s poor performance to the US dollar.

Radebe said the increase would have been 20c more if it wasn’t for declining oil prices.