Petrol, diesel prices remain unchanged till end March

ISLAMABAD: Despite the increase in prices of Brent in the international market, the government on Monday decided to keep the prices of petrol and diesel unchanged till the end of March 2021. However, the prices of kerosene have been increased by Rs3.42 per litre and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) by Rs2.19 per litre.

The new prices will be effective from today (March 16) till 31st March, 2021. The Ministry of Finance on Monday said, “The government of Pakistan has been absorbing the upward price fluctuation in the international market in order to provide maximum relief to the end consumers.” Petrol price will remain at Rs111.9 per litre and diesel Rs116.07 while LDO will now cost Rs81.42 and kerosene Rs83.61/litre.

For this month, this is the second time the government denied increasing the petrol and diesel prices. Finance Ministry said that despite ‘very limited fiscal space, the government has decided that the prices of MS (Petrol) and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) will remain the same.

Since no Petroleum Levy (PL) is being charged on Kerosene oil and LDO, the government increased the prices of Kerosene by Rs3.42/litre and LDO by Rs2.19/litre due to a significant rise in the international prices of petroleum products.

Economic experts believe that although not increasing the petroleum products prices will put the burden on government’s kitty, however, it will help in taming the inflationary pressure in the economy.

The stability of the Pakistani rupee against US dollar is also providing some relief, and over the last several weeks, it even gained strength against the greenback.

Whereas, in the international market the Brent oil price has jacked up and almost reached the pre-COVID time. On Monday, Brent futures were recorded above $68.90/barrel. On March 1, it was around $63.69/barrel.