It had to happen eventually. After months of waiting for the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DoE) to reduce South Africa’s petrol prices, June will likely deliver on that dream. That’s according to a new batch of fuel price predictions from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), captured yesterday 7 May, promising a petrol and diesel price reduction in June.

It’s worth tamping down those expectations in the meantime. The CEF is a state-owned energy company that reports to the DoE, and keeps an eye on the ever-changing fuel prices to give South Africans a relatively accurate idea of what to expect when the pumps change at the beginning of a new month. The DoE is responsible for altering the pump’s prices on the first Wednesday of a new month. 5 June, in this case.

Good news, everyone!

Should the CEF’s predictions prove correct, it would be the first petrol price reduction in four months, offering a massive reprieve for South Africa’s citizens. Diesel drivers, on the other hand, could experience their third consecutive price cut, with the data pointing towards a sub-R22/l price point at the beginning of June.

Both the CEF and DoE arrive at their respective predictions and official fuel prices by keeping track of certain economic factors such as the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate over the given month, and the price of refined oil globally. The CEF looks at all the same data on a daily basis to provide the daily snapshots and information we’ve got below.