South Africa's rand was steady on Thursday, as markets tried to digest U.S. President Donald Trump's Oval Office ambush of South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa, which overshadowed the country's budget presentation.

As a result from Wednesday, 4 June this year, the general fuel levy will increase by 16 cents per litre for petrol, and by 15 cents per litre for diesel.

“Version three of the 2025 budget is more sensible and depicts a stark picture of South Africa’s finances,” said Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics. “Markets will welcome the Treasury’s commitment to fiscal consolidation.”

South Africa's government will have to cut expenditure substantially if the South African Revenue Service (SARS) does not meet its revenue target, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Reuters on Thursday.

South Africa doesn't have the funds to cover the over $430 million shortfall caused by the Trump administration's cuts in foreign aid, the country's finance minister said Wednesday. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana spoke to Parliament while presenting an updated budget — one without the value-added tax increases that had sparked public outcry and fierce disagreement among parties in the ruling coalition.

In the March version of the budget, Treasury projected that public debt would peak at 76.2% of gross domestic product in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The International Monetary Fund foresees South Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio increasing to 88.7% by 2030.

South Africa made only minor adjustments to its spending plans and deficit projections in a third budget presented on Wednesday that was overshadowed by a meeting between its president and U.S. leader Donald Trump later in the day.

South Africa’s second-biggest political party the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday said it “cautiously supports” the new budget presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana after rejecting two previous versions.

The education sector will receive a substantial R1.04 trillion over the next three years, cementing its position as a government priority.

South Africa’s culture minister talks Afrikaner refugees, xenophobia, and his 2029 leadership vision in an interview with The Africa Report.

The head of South Africa’s second-biggest political party said talks about the nation’s revamped budget are “are going very, very well,” a signal that the coalition government is resolving differences that derailed the National Treasury’s previous tax and spending proposals.

South Africa's National Treasury said on Wednesday that this fiscal year's budget deficit would be wider and public debt higher after it was forced to backtrack on a proposed increase in value-added tax (VAT).