Govt increases petrol price by Rs6.39, diesel by Rs7.83 per litre
The government on Wednesday increased the price of petrol by Rs6.39 and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs7.83 per litre to pass on the impact of fluctuating global prices following renewed regional hostilities in the Persian Gulf. Following the changes,...
The federal government has raised the price of petrol by Rs6.39 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs7.83 per litre, adjusting fuel rates to reflect movements in global markets amid renewed regional tensions in the Persian Gulf, according to a monitored public feed based on Dawn Home.
After the latest revision, petrol will cost Rs327.12 per litre, while HSD has been set at Rs375.04 per litre. The Petroleum Division said the new prices will take effect from July 23, Thursday.
The increase comes at a time when fuel pricing has been under close public attention because of volatility in international energy markets. The feed summary said the latest change was made to pass on the impact of shifting global prices following renewed hostilities in the region.
The update also came on the same day the All Pakistan Petroleum Pump Owners Association postponed its planned nationwide strike for two weeks after talks with the petroleum minister. The association had announced the strike a day earlier, saying negotiations with the government over daily fuel pricing had not produced a breakthrough.
According to the feed, the government has been moving toward more frequent fuel-price changes because of turbulence in the international market. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik had previously said prices would now be fixed on a daily basis in response to global fluctuations linked to the situation involving Iran and the US. The cabinet and the prime minister, he said, had decided to hand responsibility for daily pricing to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on the basis of international market trends.
The government had already been issuing weekly fuel-price revisions since early March, alongside conservation measures aimed at reducing the risk of supply disruption in the Middle East. In April, it also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel, the feed said.
The latest increase still leaves diesel far below its April 3 peak of Rs520.35 per litre, while petrol is also below its own high of Rs458.41 per litre recorded on the same date. The feed noted that diesel prices had begun climbing from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran conflict broke out on February 28, while petrol started rising from Rs266 in the first week of March.
Fuel price changes have a wide economic impact in Pakistan. Petrol is widely used in private transport, small cars, rickshaws and motorcycles, while diesel is a key input for heavy transport, power generation and large generators. The feed also noted that petrol and HSD are the country’s main revenue-generating fuels, with monthly sales of around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared with roughly 10,000 tonnes for kerosene.
This report is based on a monitored public feed.
Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017573/govt-increases-petrol-price-by-rs639-diesel-by-rs783-per-litre
