The federal government has increased the price of petrol by Rs4.61 per litre while reducing the price of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs1.96 per litre, with the revised rates taking effect from Tuesday.
Petrol will now be sold at Rs393.75 per litre, up from Rs389.14, while the price of HSD has been reduced to Rs422.08 per litre. The government continues to collect Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.
The latest revision comes as international oil prices moved higher after several days of declines, with investors watching developments around potential United States (US)-Iran talks at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly this week.
Brent crude futures for the November contract rose 22 cents, or 0.22 percent, to $100.57 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October edged up 2 cents, or 0.02 percent, to $95.80 per barrel.
The Petroleum Division has been revising fuel prices based on movements in the international market. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced in July that fuel prices will be fixed daily due to fluctuations in international oil prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.
Under the revised mechanism, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) was given responsibility for determining fuel prices on a daily basis according to international market trends.
The latest change comes after the government reintroduced measures to conserve fuel as prices rose, including requiring markets to close by 9pm and reducing fuel allocations for official vehicles by 50% for three months.
On September 13, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif also announced a fuel relief scheme for users of motorcycles, rickshaws and vehicles up to 800cc. Under the scheme, owners of two- and three-wheelers will receive relief of Rs100 per litre on a monthly quota of 20 litres, while owners of vehicles up to 800cc will receive the same relief on 30 litres per month.
The government had previously shifted from weekly to daily fuel-price revisions. Before the change, fuel prices had been revised weekly since early March amid concerns over possible disruptions to oil supplies.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik had warned on Sunday that petrol prices could reach Rs1,000 per litre if a fuel shortage emerged in Pakistan. He said that petroleum prices had already increased by 50% in Pakistan and that fuel prices in Europe and the US had also risen.
Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, while HSD is widely used in heavy transport, power plants and large generators.
Petrol and HSD are also the government’s major fuel revenue sources, with monthly sales of around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes compared with about 10,000 tonnes of monthly kerosene demand.
