The number we graph
Each graph shows the DMPR column headed RTL Wholesale Price, in cents per litre, for Zone 9C (Gauteng). There's one graph each for Diesel 50ppm, ULP93 and ULP95, comparing 2024, 2025 and 2026. We don't sell illuminating paraffin, so it isn't graphed here.
Zone 9C covers all of Gauteng. Official prices in North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal often use other zones. You can look up the zone for a town on our zone map.
What sits inside an official price
South Africa’s petrol, diesel and paraffin prices are regulated. The DMPR publishes a new schedule, usually from the first Wednesday of the month. In broad terms, the official price is built from these parts.
- Basic Fuel Price (BFP). An import-parity reference, based on international product prices, the rand–dollar exchange rate and the cost of bringing the product to a South African port.
- Government levies and duties. These include the general fuel levy, the carbon fuel levy, the Road Accident Fund levy, customs and excise, and smaller levies that can apply in a given month, such as a slate levy. They change when government announces a change, not only when the oil price moves.
- Zone (transport) differential. A cents-per-litre amount that depends on the magisterial-district zone. Inland areas pay more than the coast to cover transport from the port or pipeline.
- Wholesale margin, storage and distribution. Regulated amounts for the wholesale chain.
- For petrol at the pump only. A dealer (retail) margin and pump rounding. Our graphs use the wholesale RTL column, not the pump price.
The exact list of parts, and the cents attached to each, is in the official DMPR workbook for that month. You can download it from the list on our home page.
Gaps in 2026
March 2026 wasn't published on the DMPR website. The March points on the Zone 9C graphs are the official 9C grid prices for that month, and there's no March 2026 file to download. April 2026 comes from an official DMPR Fuel Regulations workbook that isn't on the DMPR website. The unmodified file is in the download list. December 2026 hasn't been published yet.
Official resources
We link to the live government sources rather than keeping copies of old department documents on this site.