The world has already tucked a fortnight under its belt in 2025, which can only mean one thing: it’s that time of the month – time to dive into the expected petrol and diesel price changes for February 2025. The Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) latest daily snapshot, captured on 13 January, foretells a bleak future for South African motorists.

Petrol on your mind?

It’s worth noting that the CEF’s word is not law. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is the official decider of the country’s fuel price adjustments – the process for which takes place on the first Wednesday of each new month. In this case, that’s Wednesday, 5 February.

The CEF’s figures (down below) are, however, the most accurate summation of the incoming fuel price adjustments. The CEF keeps track of the two biggest economic factors that can influence South Africa’s fuel prices and provides that information to the DMRE at the end of every month. The DMRE, determines the official price for the coming month using this data, meaning it cannot artificially influence the price of fuel.

Those two economic factors involve the price of unrefined oil internationally, as well as the current Rand/US Dollar exchange rate. The weaker the Rand, or the higher the price of Crude Oil, the worse it is for South Africa’s fuel trade.