It’s the first week of 2026, and that means a couple of things. For many, it means hitting the gym as hard as physically possible until they inevitably stop showing up. Fortunately, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) official fuel price adjustments — arriving later this week — will make the financial hit that much more bearable. The department recently confirmed a major R1+ price decrease for many motorists in January.

A late but welcome Christmas gift

You’ll need to be behind the wheel of a diesel engine to make the most of the DMRE’s adjustments. Still, even the country’s petrol drivers have a sizeable decrease to look forward to. As ever, the department will officially adjust fuel prices nationwide on the first Wednesday of the new month. That’s this coming Wednesday, 7 January.

The Central Energy Fund (CEF) has predicted the impending price drop for several weeks now, using the country’s continually strengthening Rand and the average price of oil products internationally to foretell the drop. Should the Rand continue to gain against the US Dollar, we may well have another decrease on our hands.

“The average international product prices for Petrol, Diesel and Illuminating Paraffin decreased during the period under review. The Rand appreciated against the US Dollar during the period under review, on average, when compared to the previous period. The average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate for the period 04 December 2025 to 01 January 2026 was 16.8485 compared to 17.2343 during the previous period. This led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Prices on petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin by 20.798 c/l, 22.116 c/l, 22.540 c/l respectively.”

Another contributor to South Africa’s fuel price adjustments is the Slate Levy on petrol and diesel, which will remain at 0.00 c/l with effect from 07 January 2026, according to the DMRE.