{"id":94165,"date":"2025-12-12T15:42:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:53:07","slug":"big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2","title":{"rendered":"Big Swing for Petrol Prices in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) for the second week of December shows that fuel price recoveries have swung into positive territory across the board.<\/p>\n

This is a reversal of the rocky start to the month when petrol prices were showing an under-recovery and pointing to a possible hike in January.<\/p>\n

At the end of the second week, petrol price recoveries have turned positive, now showing an over-recovery of between 5 and 7 cents per litre.<\/p>\n

The turn for fuel prices is remarkable, given that the data showed an under-recovery of 20 cents per litre just a week ago.<\/p>\n

For diesel, which started the month with a strong over-recovery, this has only extended, with the fuel now showing an over-recovery of between 82 and 88 cents per litre.<\/p>\n

Here are the recoveries at the end of the second week of December:<\/p>\n

Petrol 93:<\/b> decrease of 5 cents per litre<\/p>\n

Petrol 95:<\/b> decrease of 7 cents per litre<\/p>\n

Diesel 0.05% (wholesale):<\/b> decrease of 82 cents per litre<\/p>\n

Diesel 0.005% (wholesale):<\/b> decrease of 88 cents per litre<\/p>\n

Illuminating paraffin: <\/b>decrease of 57 cents per litre<\/p>\n

Indicators at the start of the month are usually too early to make a decisive call on what the fuel price changes will be, which is evident in the big swing.<\/p>\n

The start of the month reflected resilient but range-bound rand strength versus the dollar, and tensions between the US and Russia kept oil prices fixed around $65 a barrel.<\/p>\n

In the week since, the rand has pulled back below R17 to the dollar, hitting its strongest levels since 2023, and the oil price has dropped to below $62 a barrel.<\/p>\n

The rand strength, in particular, has fully countered the small under-recovery that is still present in the petrol prices due to global oil prices.<\/p>\n

The favourable exchange is adding 12 cents per litre to an over-recovery.<\/p>\n

Oil prices are lower, but still not as low as they were in previous months. For petrol, the movement in prices is still contributing to a 4-6 cents per litre under-recovery.<\/p>\n

For diesel, due to the balancing of seasonal demand and other factors, the lower oil price is contributing to a significantly higher over-recovery, ranging from 71 to 76 cents per litre.<\/p>\n

From zero to hero<\/b><\/p>\n

After breaking below R17.00 at the start of the month, the South African rand has fluctuated around the resistance level.<\/p>\n

It moved back above R17.00\/$ as markets awaited fresh data, but has once again pulled below to hit around R16.84\/$.<\/p>\n

The gain was aided by the US Fed cutting rates in the United States by 25 basis points and a rally in the gold price.<\/p>\n

As a major producer of precious metals, South Africa often benefits from firmer bullion prices. Markets will be looking ahead to consumer inflation numbers coming next week for the next signals.<\/p>\n

Headline inflation is currently 3.6% in annual terms, and economists in a Reuters poll expect it to remain unchanged.<\/p>\n

Analysts expect the rand to end the year on a strong note, with the potential to strengthen even further in 2026, thanks to a marked shift in risk sentiment.<\/p>\n

Looking at oil prices, 2026 is also expected to bring a better turn for fuel pricing, with a supply glut anticipated to persist through 2027.<\/p>\n

Oil prices have dropped by almost 20% this year due to a forecast of oversupply.<\/p>\n

According to an analysis by Bloomberg, the International Energy Agency is predicting an unprecedented surplus in the new year, with global inventories expected to swell to a four-year high.<\/p>\n

However, this is being countered by geopolitical tensions, most notably the ongoing war in Ukraine and the United States\u2019 recent attacks on Venezuela.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump announced new sanctions on three of Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro\u2019s nephews, as well as six oil tankers, after the US seized a supertanker off the coast of the Latin American nation this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ship seizure was just the beginning of a new phase in the Trump administration\u2019s ramped-up pressure campaign against the Venezuelan president, according to people familiar with the operation,\u201d Bloomberg reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe act of economic statecraft is designed to deny Maduro a lifeline of oil revenue and force him to relinquish power, the people said.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Venezuela flare-up adds a headline risk premium to oil prices and market volatility, Bloomberg said it doesn\u2019t change the bigger picture of oversupply.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) for the second week of December shows that fuel price recoveries have swung into positive territory across the board. This is a reversal of the rocky start to the month when petrol prices were showing an under-recovery and pointing to a possible hike […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-94165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nBig Swing for Petrol Prices in South Africa - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) for the second week of December shows that fuel price recoveries have ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big Swing for Petrol Prices in South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The latest data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) for the second week of December shows that fuel price recoveries have ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T15:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T16:53:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/sm_1765545473.654807.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Big Swing for Petrol Prices in South Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T15:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-12T16:53:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/sm_1765545473.654807.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/big-swing-for-petrol-prices-in-south-africa-2\",\"name\":\"Big Swing for Petrol Prices in South Africa - 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