Diesel decrease likely for December while petrol prices go up

Documents released by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows the daily petrol price going back into the green, with over-recoveries of 50 cents a day.

An over-recovery, which refers to when consumers pay too much for petrol, usually leads to a decrease in petrol costs at the end of the month.

However, the petrol price has been in under-recovery for most of November, which means it is likely that prices will rise in December, although at a smaller rate than anticipated.

The CEF data reflects that the month average suggests an increase of 62 cents a litre for Unleaded petrol, and 52 cents a litre for ULP.

If current trends remain, IOL predicts that it is possible that the price increases will fall below 30 cents.

In better news for diesel prices, the month average suggests a decrease of R1.12 for 500ppm and R1.05 for 50ppm. The latest over-recovery data of R3 shows that a decrease of R1.70 or more is possible if international prices remain consistent.

If that happens, January may also see a further price decrease for diesel.

As IOL clarifies, these projections are based on official but audited data, and are subject to change depending on currency and oil price fluctuations.