Early fuel price forecast for December anticipates a major diesel price increase

Not even a week after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) slashed fuel prices around the country, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) has stepped in to rain on the parade. According to the CEF’s latest fuel price predictions (captured 7 November), December is shaping up to raise the price of fuel across the board.

Not a good day for fuel prices

This isn’t some paltry 3-or-4c/l decrease, either. If the CEF’s predictions come to be, motorists could face major increases of roughly 60-70c/l in December. Fortunately, there’s still time for the situation to turn around. The DMRE typically adjusts fuel prices on the first Wednesday of the new month — in this case, 3 December 2025.

That leaves the rest of November for the CEF’s predictions to go in a different, and hopefully cheaper direction. The CEF, in conjunction with the DMRE, tracks those economic factors that influence the price of fuel locally and shares its — usually accurate — findings with South Africans to help them better plan their fuel habits.

The biggest factors the CEF and the DMRE keep track of are the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, as well as the average price of oil products globally. A resilient Rand throughout October afforded the very welcome fuel price cuts in early November, despite oil prices surging near the end of the month.

That surge — along with the Dollar steadily regaining its strength — is to blame for the early predicted ‘under-recovery’ (price increase) reported by the CEF below. While it’s too early to determine what the price of fuel will actually look like come December, it does offer up some idea of how far we are a from a proper price cut. Keep an eye on Stuff throughout November to get a better idea of how SA’s petrol prices are developing.