South African diesel vehicle owners could be thrown some festive season cheer with prices expected to drop in early January 2026.
However, the news is not as rosy for petrol drivers.
As things currently stand, the diesel price is set to decrease by between 76 and 80 cents per litre, while petrol may remain the same.
Hit hard
Diesel drivers were hit hard in the most recent round of fuel adjustments earlier this month when prices increased by between 65 (diesel 0.05%) and 82 (diesel 0.005%) cents per litre.
Meanwhile, petrol car owners saw a 29 cents per litre hike.
The projections come from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), which tracks daily fuel price movements and under-recoveries in the local pricing system.
Below, the latest projections as received by The South African website from the Central Energy Fund (CEF):
| FUEL | PRICE CHANGE |
| Petrol 93 | No change |
| Petrol 95 | decrease of 2 cents |
| Diesel 0.05% | decrease of 76 cents |
| Diesel 0.005% | decrease of 80 cents |
| Illuminating Paraffin | decrease of 51 cents |
If the market conditions were to remain consistent for the remainder of the month – an unlikely scenario with the rand/dollar exchange rate fluctuating and the oil price ever changing – no change is expected for petrol 93 octane motorists and a decrease of 2 cents for 95 users is anticipated.
Meanwhile, diesel motorists would see something between a 76 and 80 cents per litre decrease.
Finally, illuminating paraffin is expected to drop by 51 cents in price.
FUEL PRICE IN SOUTH AFRICA IMPACTED BY TWO MAIN FACTORS:
1. The international price of petroleum products, driven mainly by oil prices
2. The rand/dollar exchange rate used in the purchase of these products
Oil price
At the time of publishing the brent crude oil price is $61.80 a barrel.
Exchange rate
At the time of publishing the rand/dollar exchange rate is R16.93/$.
The final overall price changes for both petrol and diesel will be confirmed later in the month with the new prices taking effect at midnight on Tuesday, 6 January.
The current December 2025 petrol and diesel prices (Inland and Coastal):
| INLAND | December |
| Petrol 93 | R21.26 |
| Petrol 95 | R21.41 |
| Diesel 0.05% | R19.78 |
| Diesel 0.005% | R20.02 |
| Illuminating Paraffin | R13.72 |
| COASTAL | December |
| Petrol 93 | R20.47 |
| Petrol 95 | R20.58 |
| Diesel 0.05% | R18.95 |
| Diesel 0.005% | R19.26 |
| Illuminating Paraffin | R12.71 |
