Petrol price in Pakistan is likely to increase by Rs. 30 per liter as the government is holding talks with International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the next installment of loan. As per local media reports, the diesel price may also go up by Rs. 30 per liter.
The report s further suggested that the fresh increase is expected as cash-strapped country is highly likely to impose 17% General Sales Tax (GST) on the petroleum goods as an additional measure to collect revenue. IMF has reportedly asked Islamabad to hike up the prices of both petrol and gas, impose GST and privatize some state-owned institutions.
Last Petrol Price Hike in Pakistan
Last week, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced a petrol price hike of Rs. 35 per liter due to the extreme devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar.
In his announcement regarding the petrol price hike, Ishaq Dar also said that the prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil had been increased by Rs18. In the aftermath of the removal of the unofficial cap on the dollar, the Pakistani rupee hit a historic low against the dollar, which has led to this inflation.
Dar also added that to prevent temporary hoarding and speculation about petrol shortages, the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) asked the government and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to implement the new rates right away.
Current Fuel Prices
These are current per liter fuel prices in Pakistan:
Petrol PKR 249.80
High-Speed Diesel (HSD) PKR 262.80
Light Diesel Oil (LDO) PKR 187.00
Kerosene Oil PKR 189.83
Another increase in petrol price in Pakistan would bring another wave of inflation as the masses are already facing extremely tough times. Meanwhile, the USD is still not stable against the PKR despite the uncapping by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Furthermore, there are media reports of potential fuel shortage in Pakistan in coming days, which is also another worrisome news for the country. We have discussed the whole scenario of petrol supply chain in our blog and you can read it in detail here.
