We’ve been feeling cautiously optimistic about South Africa’s future of late. Not only has Eskom eased up on load shedding, but November saw one of the larger petrol and diesel price drops in some time. According to mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), that trend could continue right into December, with another R2.00 diesel price drop on the cards.

No more walking for you, diesel drivers

Still, we’d advise you to keep those expectations tamped until the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announces the country’s official petrol and diesel prices at the beginning of the new month. Still, there’s no harm in keeping a hopeful mindset until that happens. The CEF arrives at these predictions based on the current US Dollar/ Rand exchange rate and the cost of refined oil.

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It’s worth remembering that the CEF’s predictive data doesn’t include the Department’s own adjustments to the official fuel prices, such as adjustments to the slate levy or any retail margin changes. That’s all decided alongside the official fuel prices at the end of the month.

Here are the fuel price predictions (so far) for November 2023:

Petrol 93: decrease of 104 cents per litre (R1.04)
Petrol 95: decrease of 105 cents per litre (R1.05)
Diesel 0.05%: decrease of 212 cents per litre (R2.12)
Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 217 cents per litre (R2.17)
Illuminating Paraffin: decrease of 177 cents per litre (R1.77)

Should the CEF’s predictions hold true until the end of November, we’ll see these prices adjusted at the country’s fuel pumps come Wednesday, 6 December 2023. Thanks to the intermittent appearances of load shedding and the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict, it’s possible that the CEF’s predictions could look vastly different come December. Fingers crossed that isn’t the case.