RON95, RON97 and Diesel All Jump 20 Sen This Week — the US–Iran Pause We Covered Just Collapsed (2026)

Fill up at the market rate this week and RON95 costs RM3.82, RON97 costs RM4.40 and diesel costs RM4.62 a litre — all up 20 sen from last week. The Ministry of Finance says it comes down to one thing: the US–Iran pause we wrote about on 26 July has broken down.

This week vs last week

• RON95 (unsubsidised): RM3.62 → RM3.82. This is the price non-eligible buyers and anyone over their monthly quota actually pay at the pump — BUDI95 recipients are unaffected.
• RON97: RM4.20 → RM4.40. RON97 has no subsidy at all in Malaysia, so every RON97 buyer felt the full 20-sen move.
• Diesel (unsubsidised, B10/B15): RM4.42 → RM4.62. This is the rate for company-owned fleets, foreign-registered vehicles and anyone not registered under Budi Madani Diesel or SKDS.
• This is the 32nd weekly price-setting of 2026. Malaysia has run a weekly float for unsubsidised fuel all year — this is simply the biggest single-week jump in a while.

Why prices jumped: the pause we covered just collapsed

• MOF's own reasoning: renewed US–Iran conflict. The ministry said unsubsidised prices were "influenced by movements in the global oil market," citing the US–Iran conflict pushing Brent to a six-week high of roughly US$96 a barrel.
• Two chokepoints are back in the headlines. MOF flagged elevated risk around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea — the same shipping lanes behind July's earlier tanker-attack spike.
• Strategic reserves are also a factor. MOF noted major economies have been drawing down emergency petroleum reserves since the Middle East conflict erupted in February, and are now competing to refill them — adding its own pressure on price.
• But it's already easing off that peak. Fortune's daily oil benchmark — a fixed morning snapshot, not the settlement price — measured Brent at $89.08 on 28 July and $92.27 on 31 July. Still elevated, but well off the $96 high MOF cited.

Are you actually paying the higher price?

• Most Malaysian drivers: no change. Any Malaysian citizen aged 16+ with a valid MyKad and driving licence still pays RM1.99/litre for RON95 under BUDI95 — no income test, no registration needed.
• Diesel has its own subsidised lane. Private diesel-vehicle owners registered under Budi Madani Diesel pay RM2.10/litre; eligible commercial fleets using SKDS fleet cards pay RM2.15/litre. Both are unchanged this week.
• The quota is shared and capped. BUDI95 and Budi Madani Diesel share one 200-litre-a-month household quota. Go over it, and the extra litres are billed at this week's unsubsidised rate.
• Who pays the full market price. Non-citizens, company-owned vehicles, foreign-registered vehicles, anyone over quota, and every RON97 buyer — RON97 was never subsidised in the first place.

The gap between what you pay and what fuel actually costs

• RON95: a RM1.83 gap. BUDI95 recipients pay RM1.99; the market rate is now RM3.82 — the government absorbs the RM1.83 difference on every eligible litre.
• Diesel: a RM2.52 gap. Budi Madani Diesel is RM2.10 against a RM4.62 market rate — proportionally the wider subsidy of the two.
• That gap is a taxpayer line item, not a fixed cost. Every time Brent moves, the subsidy bill moves with it — this week's jump raises what the government pays out, not what most drivers pay at the pump.

What to watch

• Wed, 5 AugThe next weekly float announcement, covering 6–12 August. If Brent holds near current levels rather than the $96 peak, expect this week's 20-sen rise to at least partly reverse.
• OngoingWhether the US and Iran find a real pause this time, or fighting around the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea continues — the single biggest swing factor in the weekly float.
• OngoingYour own litres used against the shared 200-litre BUDI95/diesel household quota — going over it moves you onto this week's higher market rate for the rest of the month.

Sources & further reading

• paultan.org — Malaysian fuel prices, 30 July–5 August 2026: up 20 sen across the board
• Free Malaysia Today — RON97, unsubsidised RON95 and diesel up 20 sen
• Malay Mail — MOF: RON97, unsubsidised RON95 and diesel prices up 20 sen a litre
• paultan.org — Budi Madani Diesel: MyKad mechanism, RM2.10/litre, 200-litre quota shared with BUDI95
• Human Resources Online — Malaysia's nationwide Budi Diesel rollout: eligibility and MyKad verification explained
• Fortune — Current price of oil as of 31 July 2026