Petrol price may drop by Rs5, diesel by Rs8 from May 1

ISLAMABAD: The government may reduce the petrol price by close to Rs5 per liter to Rs288 from Rs293.94 per liter and diesel by Rs8 per liter to Rs282.38 from Rs290.38 for the next fortnight from tomorrow, May 1, 2024, in the wake of a decline in the prices of Brent crude to $88.89 per barrel by 0.88 percent in the international market.

Likewise, the price of kerosene may go down by over Rs8 per liter from Rs93.08 to Rs85.05 per liter and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) by Rs5.37 per liter to Rs68.97 from Rs174.34 per liter, official and industrial sources told The News.

The new POL prices have been worked out based on the current government taxes. The internal freight equalization margin on petrol will remain at Rs6.75 per liter and HSD Rs3.71 per liter. The sources stated that the premium for petrol is $9.60 per barrel, and for HSD it is $6.50 per barrel.

Data shows that the ex-refiner price of petrol may plunge to Rs205.80 from Rs210.68, HSD to Rs202.70 from Rs210.07 per liter, Kerosene to Rs175.46 from Rs183.49 and LDO to Rs162.85 from Rs168.02 per liter.

The government is also charging Rs60 per liter on petrol and diesel as the petroleum levy (PL) while dealers are getting dealers’ margin of 8.64 per liter on both products each. However, district margins (including extra margins) are also charged Rs7.87 per liter each on petrol and diesel.

In the last fortnightly review of prices on April 15, 2024, the government increased the price of petrol by Rs4.53 per liter, pushing the petrol price to Rs293.94 per liter. The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) was also increased by Rs8.14 per liter, reaching Rs290.38 per liter.