ISLAMABAD: Owing to the increasing crude oil prices in the international market, the government Thursday raised the petrol price by Rs5.40 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.54 per litre for the next fortnight.
Similarly, the prices of kerosene and light-diesel oil (LDO) have also been increased by Rs1.39 and Rs1.27 per litre respectively.
With the increase, the petrol will now sell at Rs118.09 per litre, diesel at Rs116.53, kerosene at Rs87.14 and LDO at Rs84.67. The new prices will be effective from Friday (today) to the end of the month.
A statement released by the finance ministry said the government had been providing maximum relief to the consumers by reducing the prices of petroleum products since April 2021.
It said although the international oil prices had been on the rise, the government took the decision not to pass the entire burden of increase on to the consumers.
The rate of sales tax and petroleum levy have been adjusted in a manner that maximum relief is provided to the consumers.
It further mentioned that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had recommended Rs11.50/litre increase in the price of petrol, the prime minister allowed only Rs5.4/litre hike to provide maximum relief to the public.
In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said the government had "no choice" but to increase the petrol price in view of the rate on the international market.
Comparing petrol prices, he said petrol sold at Rs118 per litre in Pakistan, Rs146 per litre in Bhutan, Rs147 in Sri Lanka, Rs167 in Bangladesh, Rs172 in Nepal, Rs189 in China and Rs220 in India.
It is worth mentioning that at the start of this month for the first-half of July, the government had also increased petrol prices by Rs2 per litre, diesel Rs1.44 per litre, kerosene by Rs3.86 per litre and that of LDO by Rs3.72 per litre.
The most interesting fact is that today the Brent price was almost the same what it was in August 2018 when the PTI government came into power. But now, in local market the prices of petroleum products are higher than what were three years back.
In August 2018, when the Brent oil price was $75.5 a barrel, the local market price of diesel was Rs112.94 per litre, of petrol Rs95.24 per litre, of kerosene Rs83.96 per litre and of Light Diesel Oil (LDO) Rs75.37per litre.
Now, when the Brent price is $74/barrel, the petroleum products are considerably high with petrol selling at Rs118.09 per litre, diesel Rs116.53 per litre, kerosene Rs87.14 per litre and LDO at Rs84.67/litre.
It is worth mentioning that government is also charging 17 percent General Sales Tax (GST) on all petroleum products. Apart from it, the government is also collecting Petroleum Levy (PL) on these products, which is directly taken from the consumers.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill Thursday said Prime Minister Imran Khan went against the Ogra's recommendation and approved Rs5.40 increase in petrol price keeping in mind the public interest.
The government would "endure the burden" that would arise due to not increasing the prices in line with Ogra's recommendations and "giving the public maximum relief", Gill added.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) parliamentary leader of in the Senate Senator Sherry Rehman Thursday rejected the rise in petroleum prices and asked whether it was relief to the people before the Eid.
“The sharp rise in oil prices before Eid is unjustified and another mini-budget for people who are already stuck in the inflation quagmire,” she said.
Sherry said the government had presented a mini-budget in shape of increase in petroleum prices but claimed it had given relief to the people. She said the overall inflation rate had already crossed 12 percent and people were being pushed into the mire of inflation to achieve the target of petroleum levy.
