South Africans will be able to save a little on their fuel bills from Wednesday‚ when the price of petrol is set to drop. But it is only a small reprieve - the increase to fuel taxes announced by the former finance minister in the recent budget speech will kick in on April 1.

The Department of Energy said on Friday that the price of petrol would drop 36c/l from March.

In April‚ an additional 22c/l will be added to the fuel levy‚ while the contribution to the road accident fund will rise by 30c/l. This will add 52c/l to fuel prices‚ and is separate from the usual increase or decrease in the monthly fuel prices as adjusted by the Central Energy Fund.

The prices of diesel will fall 47c/l and 44c/l‚ for 0.05% and 0.005% sulphur content‚ respectively.

The wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will drop 23c/l‚ while the retail price will fall 30c.

The maximum retail price of liquid petroleum gas will fall by 69c a kilogramme.