Govt slashes petrol price by Rs5 per litre

ISLAMABAD: The coalition government has slashed the price of petrol for the next fortnight, taking it to Rs267 per litre after a decrease of Rs5 per litre, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced Tuesday.

The finance minister, in a press conference, said that the price of diesel would be maintained at Rs280 per litre till the next review.

FinMin Dar added that after a reduction of Rs12 per litre, light diesel oil's price has been moved down to Rs184.68 per litre and after a Rs15 per litre reduction in the rate of kerosene oil, its price has now been fixed at 187.73.

The new prices will come into effect from 12am (tonight, March 1) and remain in place till March 15.

The development comes as petrol and diesel prices in the global market have recorded a significant decline, according to a report in The News International, allowing the government to provide relief to the already inflation-burdened people.

The report added that the rupee's appreciation against the dollar in the last two weeks also helped cut the import price of diesel and petrol, as the average exchange rate dropped by Rs8 for the next review of prices.

According to some analysts, the announcement was a bit opposed to the market prediction as it expected that the federal government would hike the rate for appeasing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — whose loan is critical for the cash-strapped nation.