ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday maintained the prices of petrol and diesel for the next fortnight but reduced kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) prices by Rs10 per litre.

According to a notification by the finance division, the price of petrol will remain at Rs272 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) at Rs293 per litre till April 15. The price of kerosene has been slashed from Rs190.29 to Rs 180.29. The new price of LDO will be Rs174.68, down by Rs10 from Rs184.68.

The government maintained the prices of petrol and diesel, the two most widely consumed fuel, as it seeks to shore up its revenues.

There were rumours that the prices of all petroleum products will be reduced in wake of a drop in the oil prices in international markets. But the government decided not to pass on its full impact to consumers.

Keeps petrol, diesel prices unchanged, cuts LDO, kerosene rates; LPG price down Rs49

A senior petroleum division official said the financial crunch forced the government to keep the petrol and diesel prices intact as their consumption will rise during the last week of Ramazan and Eid holidays. “Besides, the dollar’s value has also jumped against the rupee in the past two weeks, offseting the low global market price,” the official added.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has also notified new prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), used as fuel in vehicles and for cooking.

Prolonged gas outages due to its dwindling reserves had forced domestic consumers to switch to LPG cylinders for cooking. They will now take a sigh of relief after Ogra notified a cut of Rs49 per kg for April.

According to the LPG distribution association, the price has been cut from Rs278 to Rs229 per kg. The price of a domestic LPG cylinder, which was earlier Rs3,278, will now be Rs2,702. The price of a commercial cylinder has also been reduced from Rs12,611 to Rs10,347.

LPG distribution association’s Irfan Khokhar said that if the government acted upon the body’s suggestions, the prices could have been reduced further.

In a statement on Friday, he demanded the revival of Jam­shoro Joint Venture Ltd, Pak­istan’s largest private-sector gas processing plant, which has been closed for the past 33 months. He said the closure caused a loss of billions of rupees so far.

Khalid Hasnain in Lahore also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2023