September 2026 South Africa Fuel Price Update
South African motorists face another painful month at the pumps, with mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) pointing to notable price increases across all fuel grades entering September 2026—with diesel users set to take the heaviest hit.
If current under-recoveries hold through to the end of the month, official changes will take effect at midnight on Tuesday, 1 September 2026.
Expected prices for September 2026
Petrol 93: Increase of ~40c to 63c per litre (estimated inland price: ~R25.82/l)
Petrol 95: Increase of ~51c to 74c per litre (estimated inland price: ~R26.09/l)
Diesel 0.05% (50ppm): Increase of ~R2.73 to R3.11 per litre (estimated inland price: ~R29.28/l)
Diesel 0.005% (5ppm): Increase of ~R2.89 to R3.22 per litre (estimated inland price: ~R29.92/l)
Illuminating Paraffin: Increase of ~R2.15 to R2.40 per litre
What is driving the increase?
The expected jump is largely driven by a severe global squeeze on diesel refining capacity and ongoing trade bottlenecks, which have caused international wholesale diesel prices to surge disproportionately relative to petrol. Additionally, persistent geopolitical tension in key shipping corridors has kept Brent crude oil hovering in the upper $80-per-barrel range.
While the South African Rand has held relatively steady against the US Dollar, trading around R16.19 to R16.35, the currency's performance has only been enough to slightly buffer petrol costs, failing to absorb the global shock to refined diesel products.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources will issue the official, finalised fuel price changes during the last weekend of August.
Image supplied by MasterDrive
