ISLAMABAD: Mainly because of lower prices in the international market, the caretaker government on Thursday reduced the prices of petroleum products by about Rs4 to Rs7 per litre, except that of petrol, for the next fortnight starting Dec 1. However, it increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas for the month.

In a late-night announcement, the ministry of finance said the government had decided to revise the fuel prices for the fortnight starting Dec 1, as recommended by the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

The ex-depot price of petrol was kept unchanged at Rs281.34 per litre. On the other hand, the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) was reduced by Rs7 per litre while those of kerosene and light diesel oil were also cut by Rs3.82 and Rs4.52 per litre, respectively.

As a consequence, the ex-depot price of HSD was set at Rs289.71 per litre against the existing Rs296.71. The retail price at petrol pump would, however, be well above 290.50. Likewise, the ex-depot price of kerosene was set at Rs201.16 per liter against the existing Rs204.98.

LPG cost increased for one month

The ex-depot rate for light diesel oil was fixed at Rs175.93 per litre instead of Rs180.45. At present, the government is charging about Rs80 per litre tax on both petrol and HSD. Although general sales tax (GST) is zero on all petroleum products, the government is charging Rs60 per litre PDL on both products.

On the other hand, the government increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by about 1.5pc, or Rs45.18 per 11.8kg domestic cylinder for December. The LPG price increase is on top of a net increase of almost 26.2pc over the last three months. For November, the LPG price had come down by 3.8pc after a cumulative 29pc increase for September and October.

In a notification, Ogra set the price of LPG at Rs254.86 per kg for December against Rs251 for November, showing an increase of Rs3.83. As such, the 11.8kg domestic cylinder price was set at Rs3,007.35 for December against Rs2,962.17 in November. The 11.8kg cylinder price has increased from Rs2,373.64 since July 31.

The price of commercial cylinder (45.4kg) thus increased by Rs174 to Rs11,570 for December against Rs11,396 in November.

The Ogra attributed the increase in LPG price to exchange rate loss as international price of the commodity remained unchanged in the Saudi market. “The LPG producer price is linked with Saudi Aramco-CP and US dollar exchange rate,” said the regulator, adding “as compared to the previous month Saudi Aramco-CP has remained unchanged. The average dollar exchange rate has, however, gone up by 1.87pc, resulting...increase in LPG consumer price by Rs45.18/11.8 kg cylinder (1.5pc)”.

As per the Ogra calculation, the producer price of LPG (propane 40pc and butane 60pc) has been determined at Rs176,314.47 per tonne for December against Rs173,069 per tonne for November. This price included excise duty of Rs85 per tonne. Therefore, the producer price for 11.8kg cylinder was worked out at Rs2,080.51 for December against Rs2042.22 last month.

With the addition of Rs4,669 per tonne of petroleum levy and 18pc (Rs32,577 per tonne) GST, the maximum producer price was worked out at Rs213.560.49 for December compared to Rs209,731.22 in November. The maximum producer price for dom­estic cylinder of 11.8kg was calculated at Rs2,520 for December instead of Rs2,474.83 in Nov.

For consumer price, another Rs35,000 per tonne of marketing, distribution and transportation margin was added to the maximum producer price besides another 18pc GST (Rs6,300 per tonne on this margin). Thus, the consumer end maximum LPG price was fixed at Rs254,860.5 for December instead of existing rate of Rs251,031 per tonne. The new prices would remain in the field until Dec 31.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2023