Not so long ago, we felt “cautiously optimistic” about South Africa’s prospects. Load shedding was down, and the Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) latest round of diesel and petrol predictions looked promising. Two weeks on, and things aren’t looking so good. Eskom is back in full force and the Rand is doing… something. Fortunately (for us), the country’s many other faults haven’t yet infected December’s predicted fuel prices.
South Africa is still on track to see that R2+ drop in diesel prices we initially reported back in mid-November. Petrol drivers don’t have much to fear, either, as the CEF’s latest chunk of data points towards a less substantial drop of R1 or thereabouts. Hey, it’s something.
Diesel drivers are winning
It’s worth remembering that the CEF’s data isn’t fact. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy are the country’s official fuel price deciders – looking at the current price of refined oil, the Rand/US Dollar exchange and any adjustments to the state levies already in place. The CEF looks at all the same data (barring the levy adjustments) to arrive at a general figure, meaning we aren’t totally blindsided by the time the Department does get around to changing the price at the pumps.
As for when that’ll be exactly, you can expect to see the new prices hit the pumps at midnight on Wednesday, 06 December.
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Here are the fuel price predictions (so far) for November 2023:
- Petrol 93: decrease of 99 cents per litre (R0.99)
- Petrol 95: decrease of 100 cents per litre (R1.00)
- Diesel 0.05%: decrease of 221 cents per litre (R2.21)
- Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 227 cents per litre (R2.27)
- Illuminating Paraffin: decrease of 182 cents per litre (R1.82)
We can’t promise these numbers will remain quite as enticing for the rest of the week. A return of the dreaded Stage 6 load shedding (announced earlier this morning) has the potential to throw a spanner into the works over at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, as diesel is key to keeping the lights on for plenty of people and businesses.
