Prices of petroleum products likely to be slashed by Rs10

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has recommended a reduction in prices of petroleum products by Rs10 per litter in the month of July 2020.

According to sources, the regulatory authority has suggested that the prices of petrol may be reduced by Rs10 per litre.

Sources said Ogra has forwarded the summary to the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Division that has recommended the downward revision in oil prices.

“If the government accepts this recommendation, then the petrol price would go down from the existing Rs9100.10 per litre to 90.10 a litre. The new fuel prices will come into effect at 12:00 pm tonight”, sources added.

On June 24, the federal government had approved an increase in the price of petrol by Rs 25.58 in line with the hike in global crude oil prices.

According to a notification issued by the Finance Division, the price of petrol had been increased from existing Rs74.52 to Rs100.10 per liter. The price of diesel had gone up to Rs 101.46 from existing Rs80.15 with an increase of Rs 21.31 per liter.

This fuel is used in the agriculture and transport sectors and therefore an increase in its price would affect these sectors and inflation would go up.

The price of kerosene oil had been hiked by Rs23.50 per litre from current Rs35.56 to Rs59.06 per litre. This price is used in remote areas where LPG is not available for cooking purposes.

The price of light diesel oil goes up by Rs 17.84 from Rs 38.14 to Rs55.98 per liter. This fuel is used for industry.

After the increase, the government will continue charging Rs30 per litre petroleum levy on petrol and diesel, Rs6 per liter on kerosene oil and Rs3 per litre LDO.

It is worth mentioning here, the price of crude oil, which was $20 per barrel in the world market two months ago, has risen to $41.18 per barrel, showing an over 100% increase in the commodity’s price.

The international price of oil has been volatile since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world. This period also saw a historic low in the international price of oil when it dipped zero.