Petroleum prices in Pakistan likely to go up by Rs7-9 per litre

The Pakistan government is likely to raise petroleum product prices by Rs7 to Rs9 per litre effective July 16.

The government announces petroleum product prices for 15 days at a time. An announcement about the rates for the next fortnight will be made on Monday night.

From April 16 to June 30, prices were on a consistent decline. However, the government is likely to hike them for the second fortnight amid an increase in global high-speed diesel and petrol rates.

On April 16, prices of petrol and diesel were Rs294 per litre and Rs290 per litre, respectively. They then declined by Rs36 and Rs23 per litre.

However, prices went up from July 1-15. Currently, petrol is priced at Rs265.61 per litre while diesel costs Rs277.45 per litre.

While the rupee has remained stable against the US dollar in the domestic foreign exchange market, the crude oil value has risen internationally. This is the primary reason for the rise in petroleum product prices, an analyst said.

Pakistanis also pay a petroleum development levy of Rs60 per litre on petrol and diesel along with a 10% customs duty, taking the total to nearly Rs27 per litre.

The levy will be increased to Rs70 per litre during the current fiscal year.

The government has set a petroleum development levy target of Rs 1.281 trillion in the current fiscal year. Last year, the estimated levy collection stood at Rs990 billion.