Petrol shortage expected following delay in price announcement

Sources on Friday have warned of a possible shortage of petroleum products at pumps across the country following a delay in the announcement of petrol prices by the Finance Ministry, Geo News reported.

As a result of the delay in the announcement, sources have revealed that petrol pumps have stopped purchasing petroleum products which might eventually lead to the products' scarcity.

Earlier as reported by The News, the price of petrol was expected to drop from Rs235.98 per litre to Rs226.36 after a cut of Rs9.62 per litre for the next fortnight.

But a slight increase of Rs3.04 per litre is likely in the price of diesel, increasing the rate up from Rs247.26 per litre to Rs250.30 for the said duration.

Amid these speculations, petrol pump owners have stopped purchasing petroleum products, sources said.

It was learnt petrol prices, which are revised fortnightly in Pakistan, have not been changed yet as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is yet to give his directions.

Sources familiar with the matter said that the prime minister has the authority to approve changes to the price of petroleum products.

But PM Shehbaz was attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) summit, where he also held meetings with Russia's Vladimir Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and others.

"The finance ministry is awaiting the prime minister's directions. Once, the prime minister makes a decision on the summary sent to him, only then will the new prices be issued," the sources said.