We’ve got some bad news. Despite the five consecutive petrol and diesel price drops around South Africa, there’s a good chance South African motorists will pay upwards of a few cents on top of the already hefty pump prices by November. That’s according to a fresh report from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) – the most reliable metric for South Africans looking to plan out their monthly fuel budgets.

Bad news for petrol drivers

We won’t have to worry about the price of fuel rising until the first Wednesday of the new month – in this case, that’s 6 November. That’s when the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) officially adjusts the country’s fuel pumps nationwide. Should the CEF’s daily predictions come to fruition, we could be facing a (somewhat) minor increase in the 15-27c range for petrol and 19c for diesel drivers.

There’s every chance that figure could be lower by the time we reach 6 November. See the CEF, which reports its findings to the DMRE daily, and keeps track of the various economic factors that can inflate or deflate fuel prices in South Africa. Those are the current Rand/Dollar exchange rate, and the price of oil internationally. The DMRE determines the official price at the end of the month using the CEF’s daily data.

Increased fuel prices internationally are the biggest driver behind South Africa’s raised prices, while a stronger Rand has done its bit to combat the surge. Should the Rand fall in the coming weeks, however, South Africa could see an even higher price hike at the pumps. We’ll keep you in the loop ’til that happens.