Early petrol price data points toward another increase in May

Following the disheartening news that was April’s official petrol and diesel prices (disheartening for some, anyway), we had high hopes that fortune might favour the country’s petrol drivers this May. According to fresh data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) captured yesterday, 8 April, that won’t be the case, though SA’s diesel drivers are set to secure yet another win.

Should the CEF’s predictions come true, it’ll be the country’s petrol drivers forced to bear the increased prices by the time the first Wednesday of the month (1 May) rolls around. That’s when the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the government branch responsible for officiating the fuel price, adjusts prices at the pumps around SA.

May the Force be with you

Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. The CEF’s predictions are, well, predictions. It arrives at the figures we’ve got below by studying the same data the Department of Mineral Energy and Resources does daily, rather than an average at the end of the month.

This offers the most accurate representation of the country’s waning or growing fuel price costs before the official changeover date — 1 May 2024.

The CEF examines data such as the current price of refined oil globally and the current Rand/US Dollar exchange to best determine the fluctuating petrol and diesel prices. These predictions unfortunately cannot account for the Department’s regular changes to the slate levy, or any pending failures on Eskom’s end that could send both sets of prices skyrocketing before the month’s end.