Petrol price spike hits South Africans hard as December costs climb again

Petrol hike in South Africa

December has barely begun, yet motorists are already feeling the sting. South Africa’s latest fuel price increase kicked in today, tightening the squeeze on households just as festive travel ramps up.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe, who confirmed a fresh round of adjustments based on both global and domestic market movements.

He reiterated that “South Africa’s fuel prices are adjusted monthly” according to international oil trends, shipping costs, the rand/dollar exchange rate and other local factors.

Although crude oil prices dipped slightly during the review period – from 64.14 USD to 63.54 USD – the drop wasn’t enough to offset other pressures.

International petrol prices climbed due to lower stock levels heading into the Northern Hemisphere winter, coupled with refinery outages that pushed margins higher.

Added to that were fluctuations in the exchange rate, updates to the slate levy and revised industry margins.

For the latter, the minister approved increases of 3.6 c/l for petrol and 5.48 c/l for diesel and illuminating paraffin.

Here’s what motorists are paying from December 2025:

Petrol 93 and 95 both rise by 29 cents per litre.

Diesel sees some of the steepest jumps, with 0.05% sulphur up by 65.48 cents per litre and 0.005% sulphur up by 82.48 cents.

Illuminating paraffin increases by 74.48 cents per litre, while the Single Maximum National Retail Price climbs by 99 cents per litre.

LPG users will also feel a mild increase, with prices rising by 24 cents per kilogram nationally and 9 cents per kilogram in the Western Cape.