Petrol in February 2026 is the cheapest it has been since January 2022 thanks in large part to the stronger rand. If you live in Joburg, for example, 95 unleaded costs R20.10 a litre, which means some of us are able to fill our tanks for less than R1,000 for the first time in a while.

In South Africa, what we pay for a litre of petrol isn’t just affected by the oil price and the rand/dollar exchange rate, however. Fifty-eight percent of the cost comprises fuel tax, a levy that goes to the Road Accident Fund, plus a variety of other levies and margins.

The basic fuel price component of the fuel price is currently R8.46 per litre, lower than it was in January 2022, when 95 unleaded cost R19.61 a litre. Back then the basic fuel price was R9.03 a litre.

Why is the petrol price higher now than it was then? Fuel tax and the Road Accident Fund levy together make up R6.33 of every litre, or 31% of the total fuel cost. Back in January 2022, they were R6.11, also 31%.

Various other levies and margins such as customs and excise duties, transport costs, storage and distribution costs as well as wholesale and retail margins are added to the petrol price. These have increased from R4.46 per litre, or 22.7%, to R5.31, or 26% of the total price. The biggest increases have been in the wholesale and retail margins.