POL prices likely to be decreased

KARACHI: Petroleum Oil Lubricants (POL) prices in Pakistan are expected to drop to record low this year after a decline in international market by $50.

Following this decline, petrol and diesel prices are likely to decline by Rs 4 in Pakistan. Oil edged up to $51 a barrel on Wednesday after reaching its lowest since June 2017 on perceptions that a price slide prompted by worries over the global economy had been overdone amid an OPEC-led effort to tighten supply.

Crude has been caught up in wider financial market weakness as the US government shutdown, higher US interest rates and the US-China trade dispute unnerved investors and exacerbated worries over global growth. Brent crude LCOc1, the global benchmark, was up 43 cents at $50.90. It earlier fell to $49.93, the lowest since July 2017, and posted a 6.2 percent slide in the previous session.