The Mineral Resources and Energy Department has given South Africans an early Christmas gift, as another fuel price drop is expected for December.

All grades of petrol will drop by 65c per litre. Grades of diesel will decrease by up to R2.41c a litre.

The price of paraffin also drops by R1, 71c. LPGas, unfortunately, increases by R1,67c.

These price adjustments will come into effect next Wednesday, 6 December.

The Department listed the main reasons for the fuel price adjustments, including:

• A decrease in crude oil prices frmo 88.72 US Dollars (USD) to 82.62 USD during the period under review, mainly due to increased supply from non-OPEC members, disagreements regarding production levels by members, and continued slow global economic growth concerns.
• A decline in international petroleum product prices in line with the lower crude oil prices.
• The Rand appreciated on average, against the US Dollar (from 19.16 to 18.55 Rand per USD) during the period under review when compared to the previous one.
• The cumulative slate balance on petrol and Diesel at the end of October 2023 had a negative balance of R3,1 billion. Therefore, a slate levy of 26.32 c/l will be implemented in the price structure of petrol and diesel with effect from the 6th of December 2023. This means that the motorists will benefit by 26.30 cents per litre since the slate levy will decrease from 52.62 to 26.32 cents per litre.

The fuel prices schedule for the different zones will be published on Tuesday, the 5th of December 2023.