Petrol prices to remain unchanged: Ishaq Dar

Published December 31, 2022
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. — Screengrab
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. — Screengrab

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Saturday that the price of petrol and diesel will remain unchanged heading into 2023.

In a televised address, the finance minister said the price of kerosene oil and light diesel will also remain the same.

The price of diesel will remain at the existing price of Rs227.80 per litre, petrol at Rs214.80 per litre, kerosene oil at Rs171.83 per litre and light diesel oil at Rs169.00 per litre, he added.

The finance minister said that following a rise in the prices of petroleum products in the international market, the Oil and Regulatory Gas Authority (Ogra) had recommended a slight upward revision in the tariff for kerosene and light diesel oil.

The regulatory authority’s recommendation was not passed by the government on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directives, Dar added.

“The decision was taken after considering that the weather is cold and the poorest people use light diesel oil for tubewells while kerosene is also used by people earning the lowest incomes,” he said.

“According to the prime minister’s directives, it has been decided that the government will absorb the levy on these two products and reduce the collected amount to maintain these prices.”

He also later said that the decision to keep prices unchanged was taken to “provide relief to the common man, despite increase in the prices of these products in the international markets!”.

On December 15, the government cut the price of petrol by Rs10 and diesel by Rs7.5.

The price of kerosene oil was slashed by Rs10 on Nov 30 while the price of light diesel oil was reduced by Rs7.5 per litre.

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...
Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...