It’s still early to predict what the prices will be for both petrol and diesel in February, but the latest data provided by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) does not look good.
The situation is not as rosy as it was earlier in the month and it’s getting worse by the day.
As a reminder, both petrol and diesel prices dropped significantly in early January and was welcomed by South African motorists.
Petrol decreased by R2.06 per litre for both 93 and 95 octanes, while the 0.05% diesel price dropped by R2.69 per litre and the 0.005% diesel price by R2.81.
Mid-month data from the CEF points to a smaller drop in prices for petrol and diesel in February 2023 due to rising international petroleum costs.
Looking ahead, fluctuations in international product prices and rand weakness show the following over-recoveries (price decreases) for petrol and diesel as per data on 16 January 2023:
| Fuel | Price change |
| Petrol 93 | Decrease of 7 cents per litre |
| Petrol 95 | Decrease of 14 cents per litre |
| Diesel 0.05% | Decrease of 37 cents per litre |
| Diesel 0.005% | Decrease of 50 cents per litre |
| Illuminating paraffin (wholesale) | Decrease by 34 cents per litre |
If the market conditions persist for the remainder of January -an unlikely scenario- another decrease is on the cards for both petrol and diesel users of between 7 to 14 cents for petrol, while diesel motorists could see a 37 to 50 cents per litre drop in February.
The Department of Energy has stressed that the daily snapshots are not predictive and do not cover other potential changes like slate levy adjustments or retail margin changes, which are determined by the department at the end of the month, taking all variables into account.
Source: Business Tech, The South African, image from Twitter: @_Tshireletso_