The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has emerged from its slumber to unveil South Africa’s latest official petrol and diesel prices for the last time in 2024 – and it’s not a pretty sight. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to readers who have followed Stuff’s numerous petrol price predictions throughout November.

The Central Energy Fund (CEF), a state-owned energy company reporting directly to the DMRE, offers daily predictive snapshots throughout any given month. These snapshots provide residents with a rough but fairly accurate summation of the coming adjustments, which take place on the first Wednesday of each month.

Big man, take the wheel

In this case, that’s this coming Wednesday – 4 December 2024. This month, the brunt of the hikes falls onto both petrol and diesel drivers, although petrol drivers have been let off easier than all the rest. It’s worth mentioning that both the DMRE and CEF arrive at their respective figures by tracking several economic factors throughout the month.

This means the DMRE cannot artificially inflate or deflate the country’s fuel prices. The two most impactive factors at play here are the current Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, as well as the price of unrefined oil globally throughout November. The one aspect the DRME can control is the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, which will remain at R0.00c/l throughout December.