South African motorists face a split August 2026 fuel price adjustment from Wednesday, 5 August 2026, with petrol falling at the pumps while diesel and paraffin climb sharply for a second month.
Both petrol grades drop by 52 cents a litre, according to the Central Energy Fund. Diesel moves the other way, with the 0.05% sulphur grade rising R1.38 a litre at wholesale and the 0.005% grade up R1.23, while illuminating paraffin gains R1.52 a litre.
What the August 2026 fuel price means per tank
The table below sets out the current and new prices per litre, the cost of filling a 60-litre tank before and after the adjustment, and how each fuel has moved over the month and over the past year.
Diesel figures are wholesale prices, as diesel is not regulated at the pump.
| Fuel | July price | August price | 60L tank in July | 60L tank in August | Month on month | Year on year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol 95 inland | R26.10 | R25.58 | R1,566.00 | R1,534.80 | R31.20 less | R239.40 more |
| Petrol 95 coast | R25.23 | R24.71 | R1,513.80 | R1,482.60 | R31.20 less | R237.00 more |
| Petrol 93 inland | R25.94 | R25.42 | R1,556.40 | R1,525.20 | R31.20 less | not published |
| Diesel 0.05% inland | R24.79 | R26.17 | R1,487.26 | R1,570.33 | R83.06 more | R370.12 more |
| Diesel 0.05% coast | R23.92 | R25.30 | R1,434.94 | R1,518.01 | R83.06 more | R367.78 more |
| Diesel 0.005% inland | R25.17 | R26.41 | R1,510.30 | R1,584.37 | R74.06 more | not published |
A motorist filling a 60-litre tank with 95 unleaded inland saves R31.20 from Wednesday.
The same tank costs R239.40 more than it did in August 2025, which shows how much ground has been lost over the year despite the relief arriving this month.
Why diesel rose while petrol fell
International product prices moved in opposite directions during the review period from 26 June to 30 July 2026.
Petrol prices edged higher by a fraction, while diesel and paraffin prices fell on paper, yet the recovery calculation left diesel deep in under-recovery and petrol close to break even.
The rand also worked against motorists. It averaged R16.4554 to the dollar over the period, weaker than the R16.3774 of the previous cycle, which pushed up the cost of imported fuel by roughly 6 cents a litre on petrol and 8 cents on diesel.
Petrol drivers were rescued by the slate levy, which recovers past shortfalls in the fuel price account. That levy falls from 113.94 cents to 61.38 cents a litre, a cut of 52.56 cents that turned a flat petrol outcome into a decrease and softened the diesel increase.
What the August 2026 fuel price does to households
Diesel sits behind most of what moves through the economy, from freight and mining equipment to generators and farm machinery. A wholesale increase of this size usually reaches consumers indirectly through transport costs built into the price of goods rather than at the forecourt.
Paraffin users carry the heaviest burden. The single maximum national retail price rises to R24.21 a litre from R22.18, an increase of R2.03 that lands squarely on lower income households heading into the coldest weeks of the year.
Gas users get relief, with LPGas down R4.41 a kilogram.
What happens next
The new prices take effect at midnight on Wednesday, 5 August 2026 and hold until the next review closes at the end of the month.
With the fuel levy relief now fully withdrawn, pump prices track global oil and the rand directly, leaving no buffer against a further diesel increase in September.
