South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced plans to temporarily reduce fuel taxes to mitigate the impact of soaring oil prices on domestic gasoline costs. According to Jin10, the tax on gasoline and diesel will be lowered by 3 rand (approximately $0.18) per liter starting in April. This measure will be detailed further in a briefing later today.
Godongwana stated, "I will temporarily reduce the fuel tax by 3 rand per liter in April, while I continue discussions on potential measures for the following two months." The South African Reserve Bank aims for an inflation target of 3%, and prior to the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, the government had projected economic growth of 1.6% for this year.
Since the attack by the U.S. and Israel on Iran on February 28, oil prices have surged nearly 50%. Data from South Africa's Central Energy Fund indicates that the retail price of 95-octane gasoline could rise by nearly 30% on Wednesday, while wholesale diesel costs are expected to increase by more than half.