Petrol prices are set to drop from Wednesday. (Photo: Nadine Hutton / Bloomberg via Getty Images) BM - Ed - Sasol H1 2023 option 2 
South Africa’s inflation trajectory is off to a good start in 2026. Petrol and diesel prices at the pump are set to fall from Wednesday, 7 January, the Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum (DMRP) said at the weekend.
The retail price for petrol 93 will decrease by 62 cents per litre while the 95 grade will fall by 66 cents. Diesel will drop 137 cents per litre, a significant move that will reduce the cost of transporting goods.
Meanwhile, the wholesale price of illuminating paraffin – used in a decreasing number of poor households for cooking – is set to fall 110 cents a litre, bringing welcome relief to the bottom of South Africa's income scale.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BMMC-Ed-Paraffin-MAIN.jpg "A man ignites a paraffin lamp in Ekurhuleni. (Photo: OJ Koloti / Gallo Images)")
The usual suspects – the rand exchange rate and the global oil price – were behind the monthly price adjustment.
“The rand appreciated on average, against the US Dollar (from 17.22 to 16.85 rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one,” the DMRP said in a statement.
“The average Brent Crude oil price decreased from $63.55 to $61.47 during the period under review. The main contributing factor is the oversupply of oil in the market due to increased production by Opec+ and non-Opec producers.”
South Africa’s consumer inflation rate cooled in November to 3.5% from 3.6% in October, and the Reserve Bank is steadfast in its determination to target 3.0%.
Fuel prices are a key driver of inflation in South Africa, not just because of their impact on motorists. In the price pipeline they have a material effect on transport and energy costs, which ripple through the value chain to consumers.
This looming fall in retail fuel prices is a promising harbinger of inflation being contained in 2026. DM