The numbers a rate sheet runs on.
The rand, the repo and prime rates, diesel at the Gauteng wholesale gate, Brent, copper: each read from its source by the procurement engine, with the day it was checked next to it. Nothing here is typed from memory; where an indicator has not been checked it is not shown. Below them, two pieces of arithmetic worth doing before a meeting rather than after.
Checked, dated, sourced
Rand per US dollar
SARB daily rates / any bank screen · daily
moves The envelope: roof, walls, windows, waterproofing, Electrical, HVAC, fire and building services, Fit-out and finishes and 2 more
16,24 ZAR/USD
checked 18 Sept 2026
xe.com mid-market 16.2359 at 06:01 UTC 18 Sept 2026.
Source ↗Repo rate
SARB MPC statement · per MPC meeting
moves all
7,00 %
checked 14 Sept 2026
SARB Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee, July 2026: repo unchanged at 7.00%; four members for a hold, two for +25bp; June CPI 5.0%
Source ↗Prime lending rate
SARB / the bank · per MPC meeting
moves all
10,50 %
checked 14 Sept 2026
Prime 10.50%: repo 7.00% confirmed from the SARB July 2026 MPC statement; the 3.5-point prime spread and the 10.50% level are from EWN and IOL, 23 July 2026
Source ↗Diesel 0.05% wholesale, Gauteng
DMRE monthly fuel price adjustment · monthly, first Wednesday
moves Ground and bulk, Concrete and cement, Masonry, steel and timber
29,11 R/litre
checked 14 Sept 2026
Change: DMPR adjustment effective 2 Sept 2026 - diesel 0.05% +R2.93/l, diesel 0.005% +R3.14/l, petrol 93/95 +R1.34/l.
Source ↗Brent crude
any market screen · weekly
moves Ground and bulk, Plumbing, water and sanitation
103,25 USD/bbl
checked 18 Sept 2026
Brent US$103.25 on 18 Sept 2026 (Trading Economics commodity page): 'supply disruption concerns eased' after Saudi Arabia said half the East-West pipeline capacity could be restored within days
Next monthly fuel adjustment, indicated under(+)/over(-) recovery, diesel 0.05%
Central Energy Fund daily under/over-recovery; DMPR monthly statement · weekly in the run-up to the first Wednesday
moves Ground and bulk, Concrete and cement, Masonry, steel and timber
204,00 c/litre
checked 15 Sept 2026
October 2026 adjustment, CEF daily snapshot of 14 Sept 2026: diesel 0.05% (500 ppm) +R2.04/l, diesel 0.005% (50 ppm) +R2.41/l, petrol 93 +R2.29/l, petrol 95 +R2.41/l
Source ↗LME copper
LME / market screen · weekly
moves Electrical, Plumbing, water and sanitation
14 401 USD/tonne
checked 18 Sept 2026
LME copper cash settlement US$14 400.50/t on 17 Sept 2026; 14 227.00 on 16 Sept; 14 045.00 on 15 Sept. +2.5% in two sessions.
What retention costs to carry
Retention held, times your borrowing rate, for the months it is held. The half release at practical completion is the JBCC Principal Building Agreement’s pattern.
Held across the works
R150 000
Still held after practical completion
R75 000
under a JBCC-style half release
What carrying it costs you
R11 813
R150 000 at 10,50% for 9 months. Prime was 10,50% when the engine last checked; most contractors borrow above it. How long it may be held, and the three moves when it is held past its date: how long retention can be held.
What diesel does to a fixed price
The move in diesel, times the share of your rate that is fuel, is the move in your rate. On a contract without an escalation clause, that is the amount you carry.
Diesel moved
+17,7%
Your rate moved
+2,12%
On a fixed price, that is yours to carry
R21 196
Gauteng wholesale diesel was 29,11 R/litre on 14 Sept 2026 (DMRE monthly fuel price adjustment). The share is yours to set: plant-heavy civils sits high, fit-out low. Which contracts can move and which cannot: fuel escalation on a fixed price.
The panel
Every quote through the panel is priced against a measured scope, with the indicators on this page behind the rate. A number a trustee can read is a number that survives the meeting.