{"id":881095,"date":"2026-10-23T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=881095"},"modified":"2026-10-23T07:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T05:29:00","slug":"petrol-stations-forced-to-close-at-night-in-south-africa-and-double-tax-for-middle-class-south-africans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/881095\/petrol-stations-forced-to-close-at-night-in-south-africa-and-double-tax-for-middle-class-south-africans\/","title":{"rendered":"Petrol stations forced to close at night in South Africa, and double tax for middle-class South Africans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand weakened on Thursday as rising oil prices put additional pressure on the fuel-importing economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors continued to evaluate the government’s mid-year budget review, which included two months of temporary relief from fuel levies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand traded at 16.5275 against the dollar, down about 1% from its previous close. Oil prices reached their highest levels since May, following increased Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These developments heightened concerns over an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and potential disruptions to oil supplies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa relies heavily on fuel imports, making it vulnerable to fluctuations in global energy prices. The regulated petrol price rose approximately 5% in September and surged by 12% in October. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its mid-year budget review on Wednesday, the government announced the reintroduction of temporary fuel levy cuts for two months starting in November, as part of an R10 billion initiative to alleviate cost-of-living pressures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index fell by about 1.2%. South Africa’s benchmark 2035 government bond experienced a slight weakening, with the yield increasing by 1 basis point to 8.6%. [Reuters<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, 23 October 2026, the rand was trading at R16.52 to the dollar, R22.12 to the pound, and R18.52 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,002.66, while oil prices were at $113.70 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Petrol stations forced to close at night in South Africa:<\/strong>\u00a0The South African Fuel Retailers Association said the R10 billion fuel levy relief will only slightly ease anticipated fuel price hikes in November. Henry van der Merwe warned that falling fuel sales are pressuring retailers, with some petrol stations closing at night to cut costs, putting jobs on the line. [EWN<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Double tax for middle-class South Africans:<\/strong>\u00a0South Africa\u2019s middle class is paying taxes to fund public services while also spending more of its income on private alternatives for education, healthcare, transport, and security. Economist and strategist Xhanti Payi described working households as \u201cshock absorbers\u201d because they are carrying costs that should be covered by public services. [Daily Investor<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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United States warns of new sanctions:\u00a0<\/strong>US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III warned of further sanctions against South Africa following the US visa restrictions on those promoting discrimination or inciting violence. This comes after South Africa dismissed US requests for better relations. Bozell said on October 19, 2026, that more actions are coming. [Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New tax for petrol and diesel cars:\u00a0<\/strong>The Department of Electricity and Energy has begun seeking feedback on its National Energy Efficiency Strategy (NEES), which proposes implementing fuel economy standards for cars sold in the country. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Water contamination crisis:<\/strong>\u00a0The City of Tshwane has activated an alternative water supply for the city of Pretoria after tests confirmed that the city\u2019s water had been contaminated. The city warned residents living in over 22 areas to boil water before drinking [BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in and affecting South Africa on Friday, 23 October 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":861650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2113503444111614011","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2246205316199867","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18098984603535536","_sma_x_attempts":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-881095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5-things","tag-5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=881095"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":881110,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/881095\/revisions\/881110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=881095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=881095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=881095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}