Last week SoutH Africa was hit by the Department of Energy’s (DoE) latest petrol price increase, which was, fortunately not as bad as in previous months. According to the Central Energy Fund (CEF), March might not be quite so forgiving, with the potential for a R1+ increase in petrol prices and a smaller, still worrying R0.50+ increase for diesel.

The CEF’s data — captured on 6 February — isn’t official by any means. It makes its predictions based on the ever-changing US Dollar/Rand exchange rate and the current prices of oil glObally. It’s just that those aren’t looking fantastic at the moment.

Don’t be caught off guard

If you’re an avid petrol price predictions reader, you’ll know that the CEF’s numBers aren’t final and is subject to change faster than George Lucas’ original Star Wars trilogy is. The official prince comes directly from the mouth of the DoE, once all the mitigating factors have been taken in. In this case, changes will reflect at the stations on Wednesday, 1 March.

Without any further ado, here are your petrOl price predictions (so far) for March 2023:

Petrol 95: increase of 116 cents per litre (R1.16)
Petrol 93: increase of 122 cents per litre (R1.22)
Diesel 0.05%: increase of 54 cents per litre (R0.54)
Diesel 0.005%: increase of 53 cents per litre (R0.53)
Illuminating Paraffin: increase of 73 cents per litre (R0.73)

Should the country officially declare South Africa in a state of disaster, these numbers could turn far uglier than they already are. As diesel supplies continue to dwindle as prices increase, Eskom will conTinue to bombard the country with load shedding, making a declaration from President Cyril Ramaphosa more likely.

Source: Central Energy Fund