After the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) lowered fuel prices for all South African motorists this April, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) has returned with some early predictions that tell us how our wallets might fare at the garage come May. Unexpectedly, South Africa is expected to keep its months-long fuel price decrease streak going – with only one grade of fuel expected to see a price increase.
Petrol for the soul
If you’re a regular buyer of Petrol 93 (the only fuel grade currently facing a price hike), we wouldn’t get too down in the dumps over it. The CEF’s daily predictive snapshots do not tell the full story, and only serve as an estimate for what we might face in the coming months. With a few weeks to go ’til we hit May, the CEF’s figures might tell a different story by then. Who knows? It could be diesel drivers on the wrong end of the hike.
Obviously, we’d rather that didn’t happen. Fortunately, the CEF’s latest predictive snapshot (captured 07 April 2025) shows us that the likelihood of diesel drivers paying more at the pumps than they did throughout April is slim. Petrol drivers… might not be quite so lucky. Local pricing all hinges on two economic factors – the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, as well as the average price of unrefined oil throughout any given month.
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The CEF, a state-owned energy company reporting directly to the DMRE, keeps track of these to provide the most accurate representation of the coming fuel price changes. The final decision, however, rests with the DMRE, and is typically announced a few days before the price of fuel changes. In South Africa, this typically happens on the first Wednesday of a new month.
We’ll continue to update you on the comings and goings of the CEF’s predictions throughout April.
Here are the petrol and diesel price predictions (so far) for May 2025:
- Petrol 93: increase of 4 cents per litre (R0.04)
- Petrol 95: decrease of 1 cent per litre (R0.01)
- Diesel 0.05%: decrease of 30 cents per litre (R0.30)
- Diesel 0.005%: decrease of 32 cents per litre (R0.32)
- Illuminating Paraffin: decrease of 20 cents per litre (R0.20)
