The federal government has increased the price of petrol by Rs12.90 per litre and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs3.72 per litre, with the revised rates taking effect from Tuesday, September 8.
Following the increase, petrol will be sold at Rs358.77 per litre, while HSD will cost Rs381.77 per litre.
According to a Petroleum Division notification, the revised prices will apply from September 8. The government continues to charge Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.
HSD has now risen after falling from its peak of Rs520.35 per litre, recorded on April 3. Its price had started increasing from Rs281 per litre after the Unites States (US)-Iran war began on February 28.
Petrol had also reached its highest price of Rs458.41 per litre on April 3 after starting to rise from Rs266 per litre in the first week of March.
The government changed the frequency of fuel price revisions in response to movements in international oil prices and developments in the Middle East.
On July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would be fixed daily because of fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.
Before the shift to daily revisions, the government had announced weekly changes in fuel prices since early March. It had also introduced fuel conservation measures over concerns about possible disruptions to oil supplies amid the conflict in the Middle East.
In April, the federal government also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.
The petroleum minister had said that the cabinet and Prime Minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) responsibility for determining fuel prices on a daily basis according to international market trends.
Petrol is mainly used for private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers. Changes in petrol prices therefore affect the middle and lower-middle classes. HSD is mainly used by the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators, meaning changes in diesel prices also affect the public.
Petrol and HSD remain the major revenue earners among petroleum products, with monthly sales of around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes. In comparison, monthly demand for kerosene stands at around 10,000 tonnes.
