If you had hoped that the predicted petrol and diesel prices for December 2025 would have seen a drop by mid-November, think again. The Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) latest round of predictions (captured 14 November) paints an even uglier picture for South African motorists — predicting a major 70-84c/l increase for diesel prices.

Bad news for petrol prices in South Africa

Unfortunately, December’s petrol prices don’t look that much better. The good news is that there’s still plenty of time for South Africa’s fortunes to change. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), which is responsible for adjusting the country’s fuel prices, typically does this on the first Wednesday of every month.

That means fuel prices will be adjusted at midnight on Wednesday, 3 December, leaving little over two weeks for fuel prices to head in the other direction. The CEF, in conjunction with the DMRE, tracks those economic factors that influence the price of fuel locally, providing accurate insights into the coming fuel price changes daily.

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Those factors include the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, as well as the average price of oil globally. While South Africa has made strides when it comes to the Rand — recently trading under R17/$ (for a short period, to be fair), it’s the surging oil prices compared to November else that led to the predicted ‘under-recovery’ (price hike).

Should the Rand grow stronger throughout the remainder of November, or oil prices experience a significant drop, we may still be able to salvage the situation. If not — which is looking increasingly likely — there’s a good chance South African motorists will have a fuel price increase to look forward to this December.

Here are the petrol and diesel price predictions (so far) for December 2025: