We didn’t have high hopes for our first foray into September’s petrol and diesel price predictions for South Africa. After the decent showing of August’s official fuel prices – which marked the third such price decrease for fuel locally – we were sure that the Department of Mineral Resources would be out for vengeance.

Our fears, thankfully, appear unfounded.

According to the Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) latest crop of data, captured on 12 August, we’re in for yet another round of petrol, diesel and paraffin price drops – somewhere in the 60-80c range. Should these predictions hold until September, South Africa could be looking at its fourth fuel price decrease in a row.

Petrolheads, unite!

Unfortunately, loads can happen between now and Wednesday, 4 September. It’s worth noting that the CEF’s figures (below) are not law. They are, however, the closest thing to official pricing that we’ve got. The CEF, which is state-owned and reports directly to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, keeps track of economic factors such as the Rand/US Dollar exchange and the price of refined oil globally, daily.

These are the main indicators taken into consideration by the Department when determining the country’s monthly fuel adjustments at the end of any given month. Should the Rand weaken, or the price of refined oil shoot up even further, it could lead to a a lighter decrease than we’re hoping for, or worse, an increase at the country’s pumps.

Currently, we have the lower-than-usual price of Brent Crude oil (trading at $82/barrel) to thank for what could be another round of price decreases for South African motorists. We’ll keep you updated on the expected fuel prices for South Africa throughout August.