It’s been a rocky month for the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and its predictive fuel price snapshots, but the turmoil is about to end. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has published the official fuel price adjustments for February 2026, delivering South African motorists from a month-long waiting game — with the promise of a petrol, diesel, and paraffin price cut from as soon as Wednesday, 4 February 2026.
Petrol drivers are jumping for joy
You will, of course, want to hold off from visiting the nearest garage until tomorrow, or risk being subjected to the higher fuel prices currently at the country’s pumps. Regular Stuff readers may already have planned for a price decrease like this one, thanks to the CEF daily’s regular insights.
While all of SA’s motorists will benefit from the DMRE’s latest adjustments, it’s the petrol drivers who are really winning. The last time the price of petrol officially dropped below the R20/l mark was back in February 2022. After the latest intervention, the price of Petrol 93 will officially fall to R19.99/l. 95-grade hasn’t quite managed the feat, hovering at R20.10/l as of 4 February 2026. Long may it reign.
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It should be noted that the DMRE and CEF arrive at the following figures by tracking economic factors that influence fuel prices, such as the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate and the average international price of oil products. February’s adjustments have the Rand to thank for the continual price drop, though Crude oil prices and fuel prices around the world did spoil our fun a little, with early predictions teasing a larger R1+ decrease.
“The cumulative slate amounted to a positive balance of R5.064 billion for petrol and diesel at the end of December 2025. In line with the provisions of the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism, the slate levy remains unchanged at zero cents per litre (0.00c/l) in the price structures of petrol and diesel with effect from the 4th of February 2026,” the DMRE wrote.
From 00:01 on the morning of Wednesday, 4 February, petroleum-based fuels will see the following changes:
- Petrol 93: decrease of 65 cents per litre (R0.65)
- Petrol 95: decrease of 65 cents per litre (R0.65)
- Diesel 0.05%: decrease of 50 cents per litre (R0.50)
- Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 57 cents per litre (R0.57)
- Illuminating Paraffin (Wholesale): decrease of 53 cents per litre (R0.53)
- Illuminating Paraffin (SMNRP): decrease of 70 cents per litre (R0.70)
- LPGAS: increase of 31 cents per kilogram (R0.31)
