The federal government has raised the price of petrol by Rs3.26 per litre while cutting the price of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs1.01 per litre, with the revised rates taking effect from Friday, October 2.
Petrol will now cost Rs390.66 per litre, while HSD will be available at Rs399.34 per litre, according to a Petroleum Division notification. The government continues to charge Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.
The price changes come as oil prices remained broadly stable on Friday, with the market weighing the possibility of renewed US-Iran tensions against signs of recovering supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude fell three cents, or 0.03 percent, to $102.28 a barrel after trading slightly higher earlier in the day. The contract was on track for a weekly decline of around two percent despite closing more than $4 higher on Thursday.
HSD has now fallen from its peak of Rs520.35 per litre recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war began on February 28. Petrol had also reached a peak of Rs458.41 per litre on April 3 after rising from Rs266 in the first week of March.
The government has also reintroduced austerity measures in response to rising fuel prices during the Middle East conflict. Under the measures, markets must close by 9pm, while fuel allocations for official vehicles have been cut by 50 percent for three months.
On September 13, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif announced a relief scheme for motorcycle, auto-rickshaw and vehicles with engines up to 800cc to address the impact of rising global oil prices.
Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar reviewed the implementation of the scheme on September 29 and said it reflected a “whole of government” approach. At a meeting of the National Steering Committee on Fuel Subsidy, Dar noted efforts by the information, IT and petroleum ministries, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the provinces.
The meeting was told that around 7.60 million registrations had been completed, while 7.71 million tokens had been redeemed and the token redemption process had entered its second week.
Petrol is mainly used by private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, while diesel is used in heavy transport, power plants and large generators. Petrol and HSD also remain the main revenue earners, with monthly sales of around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared with monthly kerosene demand of about 10,000 tonnes.
