South Africa Cuts Fuel Taxes as Prices Spike on Iran War (1)

South Africa cut fuel taxes to cushion a surge in oil prices driven by the war in Iran, with gasoline and diesel costs set for their steepest increase in almost two decades.

The levy will be reduced by 3 rand per liter for both gasoline and diesel in April, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in an interview at the South Africa Investment Conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The measure will cost about 6 billion rand ($351 million) in lost revenue for the one month-period, the National Treasury said in a statement.

Enoch Godongwana.

Photographer: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg

“The relief measure is designed to be fiscally ...