By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday left the retail price of gasoline unchanged but increased high-speed diesel by Rs6 per litre to Rs284.44 for the November 16-30 fortnight, a significantly milder adjustment than the jump of up to Rs9.60 projected earlier in the week.
The Finance Division, in a late-night notification, said petrol will continue at the existing rate while HSD — the fuel that powers most of the country’s trucks, buses, trains, tractors, tube-wells and threshers — rises from Rs278.44. “The government has revised the prices of the petroleum products following input from the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the relevant ministries,” the notification stated.
The increase in HSD is widely seen as inflationary because the fuel dominates freight transport and agricultural machinery, directly pushing up the cost of vegetables, grains and other perishables. Gasoline, used mainly in private cars, motorcycles and rickshaws, has a more direct impact on middle and lower-middle-class household budgets.
Earlier this week, industry officials had warned of a sharper rise. Citing tightening diesel availability in the Gulf, executives said HSD could climb as much as Rs9.60 to around Rs288.04 per litre, driven primarily by extended maintenance at one of Kuwait’s refineries and reduced output at the giant Al-Zour complex, where only two of three units are running at full capacity. Pakistan imports the bulk of its diesel from Kuwait.
Based on the first 13 days of international price data, petrol had been expected to fall by about Rs1.96 per litre. Instead, the government opted to hold it steady, forgoing a modest relief that consumers had anticipated.
The final ex-depot prices incorporate a petroleum levy and climate support levy of Rs80.52 per litre on petrol and Rs79.50 on diesel, plus roughly Rs17-18 per litre in customs duty and another Rs17 in oil-company and dealer margins. General sales tax remains zero on all petroleum products, leaving the levy as the government’s main revenue handle. Total levy collections hit Rs1.161 trillion in FY25 and are budgeted at Rs1.47 trillion for the current fiscal year, a 27 per cent increase.
Petrol and HSD together account for 700,000-800,000 tonnes of monthly consumption in Pakistan, dwarfing kerosene at around 10,000 tonnes. Just two weeks ago, on November 1, the government had raised petrol by Rs2.43 to Rs265.45 per litre and HSD by Rs3.02 to Rs278.44. By absorbing a portion of the international price spike this time, the authorities limited the pass-through to consumers and transporters, even as global diesel markets remain under pressure from the Kuwaiti supply constraints.
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