Pakistan likely to cut fuel prices by up to PKR 3 per liter

The Pakistani government is likely to reduce fuel prices for the next fortnight, following a decline in global rates.

Sources from the Ministry of Energy informed Nukta the government may cut petrol prices by PKR 3 per liter and diesel by PKR 2.65 per liter for the fortnight starting Nov 1.

The cut is possible after global petrol and diesel prices saw a fall of $1.5 to $76 per barrel and $2 to $84.5 per barrel, respectively.

In its last announcement on Oct 15, the government raised the price of diesel by PKR 5 per liter to 251.29 per liter while petrol price remained unchanged at PKR 247 per liter. The increase happened after three months of continuous declines in the petroleum product prices in line with international prices.

The global decline was attributed primarily to economic worries in most developed economies amid reports that the stocks of crude oil have increased sharply.

The government has set a target of PKR 1.28 trillion as petroleum development levy collection for the current fiscal year while it collected PKR 1.019 trillion in the previous year. At present, the PDL is PKR 60 per liter, while the government plans to increase it to PKR 70 per liter in the current fiscal year.