News / 2 December 2025 / Michael Taylor

Official petrol price increases for December announced

The Department of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has published the official fuel price adjustments for December 2025.

Oil prices traded over a narrower range last month, hovering around $63 per barrel for most of November as the United Stated pressured Russian to end its war with Ukraine.

The uncertain outcome of the negotiations meant that the market was volatile over this period, even though forecasters indicated that the global supply would improve over the next few years.

Over the same period, the rand continued to hold its value against the US dollar, trading for roughly R17.30 per USD over the last 30 days.

The average rand/US dollar exchange rate for the period 31 October to 3 December 2025 was 17.23, compared to 17.29 during the previous period.

Positive developments like a credit rating upgrade, a credible budget, and an improvement in consumer sentiment helped to balance the rand against the strengthening dollar, leading to a relatively stable exchange rate.

Unfortunately, the stable rand price did not offset the higher average oil price, which means South Africa will experience hikes this holiday season.

The average international product price for petrol and diesel increased during the period under review.

The rand/US dollar exchange rate, meanwhile, led to a lower contribution to the Basic Fuel Price of 3.355c per litre for petrol and 3.791c per litre for diesel.

Undermining this is the fact that the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy approved a net increase of 3.6c per litre in the annual margin adjustment on petrol, and 5.48c per litre for diesel.

The minister also approved adjustments to the pricing elements of the maximum retail price structure of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), with an increase of 70.0c per kg.