WorldPakistan
Pakistan cuts petrol by Rs3.93 a litre for the weekend, leaves diesel unchanged
Petrol will cost Rs386.30 from Saturday to Monday under the daily pricing system brought in after the war with Iran resumed. Diesel stays at Rs396.96.
Key points
- Petrol falls by Rs3.93 to Rs386.30 a litre from 17 to 19 October.
- High-speed diesel is unchanged at Rs396.96.
- Prices have been set daily by Ogra since July, in line with world oil markets.
Pakistan has cut the price of petrol by Rs3.93 a litre to Rs386.30 for the weekend, while leaving high-speed diesel unchanged at Rs396.96, according to a Petroleum Division notification issued on Friday night.
The new rates apply from Saturday, 17 October, to Monday, 19 October. It is the second cut in petrol prices in two days: on Thursday the government lowered petrol by Rs3.63 a litre and raised diesel by Re0.31, which leaves diesel nearly Rs11 a litre dearer than petrol.
Since July, fuel prices in Pakistan have been set every day by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), tracking international markets. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced the change at the time, citing “fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.”
The relief at the pump is small next to the pressure on household budgets. Pakistan’s short-term inflation measure, which tracks weekly prices of essential items, rose to 11.38% this week on the back of costly food.
World oil prices remain high and volatile. Brent crude touched $110 a barrel on Friday, its highest since May, as attacks on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz continued and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards insisted the waterway was closed. Crude flows through the strait in the seven days to 13 October averaged 11.6 million barrels a day, about two-thirds of the pre-war level, according to the ship-tracking firm Kpler.