The latest petrol and diesel predictions point to rising prices this March

It won’t be long now before the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is ready to adjust the country’s petrol and diesel prices for March. The latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), captured on 19 February, reckons that motorists — particularly guzzling diesel — have a lot to fear in the coming weeks.

Fuel prices stumble

Of course, the CEF’s figures (found below) are not final and are subject to change. The energy company, in conjunction with the DMRE, tracks those economic factors that influence the price of fuel locally, providing Saffas with accurate, valuable insights into the coming fuel price adjustments.

The DMRE typically adjusts fuel prices every month, often on the first Wednesday of a new month. In the case of March, that’ll fall on Wednesday, 4 March. That leaves a little under two weeks for the country’s petrol and diesel prices to right themselves. While the task may be insurmountable for diesel, petrol prices still have a shot.

Those factors include the average Rand/US Dollar exchange rate, as well as the price of petrol products globally. You can thank the latter for the predicted rise in fuel costs throughout February, although it would be fair to say that the Rand has stumbled recently. Even so, if the Rand can rally, we could be looking at a petrol price decrease.

Here are the petrol and diesel price predictions (so far) for March 2026: