Business

Strike called off as petroleum dealers’ margin raised by Rs1.6 per litre

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Dealers initially termed Rs1.64 per litre increment “insufficient”.
Raise in margins to be applied in four phases.
Dealers’ margin to rise to Rs 7.64 per litre after two months.

KARACHI: In a bid to convince petroleum dealers to call off the strike they threatened last week, the government agreed to increase their profit margin on petroleum products by Rs1.64 per litre, after hours-long negotiations, The News reported Tuesday.

Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairman Abdul Sami Khan announced the deal made in this regard.

The government had proposed increasing the dealers’ margin by Rs1.64 per litre.

The dealers — who had initially sought an increase of Rs5 per litre — initially opposed this increment as “insufficient” in the face of the increased cost of their business.

However, they later accepted the offer.

The rise in dealers’ margins will be applied to the consumer price in four phases.

It will be raised by Rs.0.41 per litre every fortnight, and the dealers will receive a full raise of Rs1.6 per litre in two months, bringing the dealers’ margin to Rs7.6 per litre after 2 months from the current Rs6 per litre.

Last week, the petrol pump owners’ representative, PPDA, announced shutting down fuel pumps across the country from July 22, demanding an increase in profit margins amid an inflation crisis.

In a statement, the association said the State Minister for Petroleum, Musadik Malik, was informed about their concerns but to no avail.

The official communique said interest rates and inflation had hit operators’ businesses and called for the dealership margin to be increased.

It said sales have slumped by 30% due to Iranian fuel being smuggled into the country.

However, the following day, the PPDA deferred its strike for two days after the association members negotiated with the petroleum minister, who arrived in Karachi on Friday to convince the PPDA to call off the nationwide strike.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

8 hours ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

9 hours ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.