Pakistan government on Thursday night increased petroleum prices by Rs8.14 per liter taking the price of petrol to a record high of Rs142.62 per liter, to ensure the revival of the IMF program.
The new prices will take immediate effect, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance. The notification comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan warned the nation that fuel prices would have to undergo an increase.
Following the price hike, prices of all petroleum products are above Rs110 per liter for the first time in the history of Pakistan. According to sources, this increase is mainly due to an increase in tax rates and exchange rate loss.
New petroleum prices:
According to the notification, the following increments have been made in fuel prices:
- The petrol price after an increase of Rs8.03 per liter jumped to Rs145.82 from Rs137.79
- The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) was increased Rs8.14 per litre to reach Rs142.62 from Rs134.48 previously
- Kerosene oil’s price reached Rs Rs116.53 from Rs110.26 after an increase of Rs6.27 per litre.
- Rate of Light Diesel Oil (LDO) is increased from Rs108.26 to Rs114.07 after an increase of Rs5.72 per litre.
The new prices, which are fixed for the next two weeks, will be effective from 5th November 2021, said the statement.
“On November 1, 2021, the Prime Minister had not agreed with the proposals worked out by OGRA and Finance Division and directed to maintain the prices as notified on October 16, 2021,” read the notification issued by the Ministry of Finance. However, due to some underlying concerns such as the cash flow issues, the prices could not get maintained at October 16th levels mentioned earlier.
The statement further added, “Foregoing in view, prices of petroleum prices have been increased partially as compared to the prices being worked out by OGRA” and that if the government had accepted OGRA’s suggestion, the new prices would have been even higher.