Petrol prices for March 2025 are headed in the right direction

After last week’s dire warning of an impending petrol and diesel price hike for March 2025, we have some better news to share this week. The Central Energy Fund (CEF) has supplied the country’s motorists with another daily predictive snapshot, foretelling a (very) minor decrease for (some) diesel drivers in the coming weeks.

We’re not out of the woods just yet. While the CEF’s latest snapshot (captured 14 February) does bring good tidings, the remaining grades of petrol and diesel (and even illuminating paraffin) are still on track to cost more than they did a month ago. But the outlook is still a damn sight more appealing than it was even a week ago.

“Good news” for petrol prices

Should this current trajectory continue throughout February, South African motorists could be looking at price decreases across the board. We’ll only know if this is likely as we draw closer to the first Wednesday of the new month, in this case, 05 March 2025, when the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) officially adjusts South Africa’s fuel pumps.

The CEF, an energy company reporting directly to the DMRE, will continue to provide daily snapshots – based on the two largest economic factors that inform the price of fuel locally. These are the current Rand/US Dollar exchange rates, on top of the price of unrefined oil globally. For example, should the price of oil decrease on average throughout the month, or the Rand strengthens, it could mean cheaper fuel prices for motorists.

Here are the petrol and diesel price predictions (so far) for March 2025:

• Petrol 93: increase of 22 cents per litre (R0.22)
• Petrol 95: increase of 10 cents per litre (R0.10)
• Diesel 0.05%: increase of 4 cents per litre (R0.04)
• Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 3 cents per litre (R0.03)
• Illuminating Paraffin: increase of 16 cents per litre (R0.16)