- Decrease likely due to drop in global prices of gasoline.
- Price of petrol may come to Rs268.24 per litre.
- Govt to announce final price after adjusting exchange rate.
KARACHI: The fuel prices in Pakistan are expected to fall by around Rs13 per litre in the next fortnightly review due to a substantial drop in global oil prices over the past two weeks, The News reported Friday citing industry officials.
According to the working of the oil sector, the next review scheduled on December 15 (today), showed a downward trend in prices for all petroleum products.
The government reviews the prices of petroleum products every fortnight and adjusts them according to the international market trends and the exchange rate of the rupee.
The price of petrol may come down by Rs13.10 per litre to Rs268.24 per litre in the next review, compared to the existing price of Rs281.34 per litre. The price of HSD is likely to drop by Rs13.66 per litre to Rs276.05 per litre, compared to the current price of Rs289.71 per litre.
The price of kerosene may witness a decrease of Rs8.36 per litre in the next review, to Rs192.80 per litre from the existing price of Rs201.16 per litre, and the price of light diesel oil (LDO) may decrease by Rs10.23 per litre to Rs165.70 per litre from the current price of Rs175.93 per litre.
Industry officials said that the ex-refinery prices of petroleum products had been showing a downward trend because of the fall in global oil prices, which had sharply come down during the last two weeks.
However, they said that the government would announce the final price after adjusting the exchange rate.
“It remains to be seen whether the government passes on the full impact of the falling prices in the global market to domestic consumers, as in the previous review of prices, the government didn’t pass on the full benefit of the decline in the prices of petroleum products to local consumers,” an industry official said.
The interim government kept petrol prices unchanged for the first half of December, despite an Rs10.70 per litre reduction in the average Platts (a price benchmark service for the oil industry) over the exchange rate adjustment, when PSO was allowed a downward rupee exchange rate adjustment of Rs3.21 per litre with effect from December 1-15, 2023.
