Petrol price for December 2026: the estimate, fuel by fuel

The petrol price for December 2026 takes effect on 2 December 2026. Pick a fuel: the estimate below uses the Central Energy Fund figures to 11 November 2026 and the end of the levy relief.

Diesel, paraffin: wholesale price

R1.50 a litre on petrol, R3.00 on diesel until 1 December

A small car tank holds about 40 litres, a bakkie about 80

More details (optional)Already filled in: oil and rand No change (latest day holds) · days to come At the latest daily figure (closer in 2026) · slate levy Unchanged

Example: petrol 95, levy relief ending as announced, CEF data to 11 November 2026· Change the fuel or the assumptions to see another estimate

Petrol 95, estimated from 2 December 2026 (Gauteng pump price)

R27.92

-R2.32 a litre (-232c) on today’s R30.24 · coast R27.05

Over-recovery so far (average from 30 October 2026)+312c a litre
Latest day (11 November 2026)+438c over
Window average projected to the close+382c over
Fuel levy relief ends+150c
A 50-litre tankR1,512 now, R1,396 then

Petrol pump prices are regulated: every station in the zone charges the same. The official figure comes with the Department’s statement a few days before 2 December 2026.

How this is computed

Compiled by Radif Partners · How the estimate is made

The December 2026 petrol price in South Africa will be set by the average over- or under-recovery of the window that opened on 30 October 2026, plus the levy changes already announced. After 9 of about 20 business days, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) sheet of 11 November 2026 shows an over-recovery of +312c a litre on petrol 95, +286c on 93, +97c on 500 ppm diesel and +174c on paraffin. Carried to the close with the latest daily figures, petrol 95 falls by -382c before levies. The temporary fuel levy relief ends on 1 December, adding back +150c on petrol and +300c on diesel. Net: 95 at about R27.92 in Gauteng (-R2.32), 93 at R27.76, 500 ppm diesel up +128c, 50 ppm diesel up +89c, paraffin wholesale down +281c. These are estimates; the Department’s statement a few days before 2 December 2026 gives the official figures.

Petrol price December 2026: where the figures stand

The pricing window for December opened on 30 October 2026. The CEF publishes one sheet per business day, and the sheet of 11 November 2026 comes 9 business days in. It compares the landed cost of each fuel that day, the Basic Fuel Price, with the cost already built into November’s prices. On 11 November 2026, petrol 95 cost +1,406c a litre landed against +1,844c in the price: an over-recovery of +438c that day, well above the window average of +312c. The landed cost had fallen further in the second week, and the rand held near R16.53 to the dollar.

The estimate fills the 11 business days still to come with the latest daily figure, then averages the whole window as the CEF will. That projection gives +382c for 95, rounded to +382c like the statement. From that over-recovery the price falls; the levy relief ending pushes it back up by +150c.

Cents a litre. Over-recovery positive (the price falls by it). CEF sheet of 11 November 2026; window assumed to close on 26 November 2026.
Fuel, GautengAverage so farLatest dayProjected at the closeLevy backChangeDecember
Petrol 95+312c+438c+382c+150c-232cR27.92
Petrol 93+286c+422c+361c+150c-211cR27.76
Diesel 500 ppm+97c+233c+172c+300c+128cR32.14
Diesel 50 ppm+134c+274c+211c+300c+89cR32.49
Paraffin+174c+369c+281c0c-281cR24.41

The three assumptions behind the December estimate

The close of the window. The CEF does not publish the closing date in advance. In 2026, eight of the nine windows on record closed on a Thursday six days before the change (the April one on a Wednesday, two days before the 1 May holiday), so this page assumes 26 November 2026. A day more or less barely moves the result.

The days still to come. Carrying the latest daily gap forward came closer to the final figure than carrying the average, in every one of the nine windows of 2026 tested on the method page. If oil and the rand stay where they were on 11 November 2026, that is the right reading. If the landed cost rises by 5% for the rest of the window, the 95 estimate becomes R28.31; if it falls by 5%, R27.54.

The levies. The relief announced in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement runs from 4 November to 1 December. If it is extended, petrol 95 would fall to R26.42 and diesel would fall too. The slate levy, which clears past under-recoveries, also changes with each statement; it rose from 87.66c to +136c in November. The slate levy page explains why it cannot be known ahead.

December with the relief extended

Example: petrol 95, levy relief ending as announced, CEF data to 11 November 2026· Change the fuel or the assumptions to see another estimate

Petrol 95, estimated from 2 December 2026 (Gauteng pump price)

R26.42

-R3.82 a litre (-382c) on today’s R30.24 · coast R25.55

Over-recovery so far (average from 30 October 2026)+312c a litre
Latest day (11 November 2026)+438c over
Window average projected to the close+382c over
A 50-litre tankR1,512 now, R1,321 then
Back to the full calculator at the top →

What December means for a tank and a month

A 50-litre tank of 95 costs R1,512 in Gauteng today and would cost about R1,396 from 2 December 2026. For a driver doing 40 km a day on 22 working days at 8 litres per 100 km, the month’s petrol falls by about R163. A diesel bakkie owner goes the other way. The cost per kilometre page works it out for your own car, and the diesel page gives the 500 and 50 ppm figures in detail.

Questions drivers ask

Tap a question to see the answer.

Will petrol go down in December 2026?

On the figures to 11 November 2026, yes. Petrol 95 shows an over-recovery large enough to outweigh the +150c levy relief coming back, so the estimate is a cut of about R2.32 a litre, to R27.92 in Gauteng and R27.05 at the coast. A sharp rise in oil or a weaker rand before the window closes would shrink it.

Will diesel go up in December 2026?

Probably. The over-recovery on 500 ppm diesel, +97c so far, is smaller than the +300c of levy relief that ends on 1 December. Unless the relief is extended, the wholesale price rises by about +128c to R32.14 in Gauteng. If it were extended, diesel would instead fall by about +172c.

When will the official December fuel price be announced?

The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources usually releases its media statement on the Thursday or Friday before the change, with the CEF tables attached. For 2 December 2026, that means late November. Until then, every figure for December in the press or here is an estimate built from the same CEF daily sheets.

Why do news sites give different December figures?

Most differences come from three choices: whether the levy relief coming back is counted, whether the average to date or the latest days are carried forward, and the date of the CEF sheet used. With the average to date, 95 would land at R28.62; with the latest days, at R27.92. The calculator shows both.

Next steps

November 2026 prices

The prices in force since 4 November 2026 and the three moves that cancelled out on petrol: under-recovery, levy relief and slate levy.

Diesel

Diesel 500 ppm and 50 ppm wholesale prices, why diesel should rise on 2 December while petrol falls, and what it means for a bakkie.

Petrol 95

Today’s petrol 95 price inland and at the coast, what a tank costs, and the estimate for the change of 2 December.

Basic Fuel Price and recoveries

How the Central Energy Fund measures over- and under-recovery each business day, and how the window average becomes next month’s change.

Central Energy Fund, Department and Reserve Bank documents behind this page (5)

Every price, levy and rate on this page was read in these documents on 13 November 2026.

Compiled by

Independent publisher of South African fuel price and interest rate calculators built on Central Energy Fund and Reserve Bank figures. Paid by no oil company, bank or lender: no commission, no affiliate link, no paid placement.

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Next month figures are estimates built from the latest Central Energy Fund data and stated assumptions; the official price is announced by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources a few days before the change. Diesel and paraffin prices are wholesale prices: your pump may charge more.