ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government on Friday announced a massive cut in the prices of petroleum products, with petrol going down my more than Rs12 per liter.
With the reduction of Rs12.63, a liter of petrol now costs Rs224.80, according to a notification issued by the country’s finance division.
The price of high-speed diesel has been reduced by Rs12.13 to Rs235.30. Kerosene oil and light diesel oil have gone down by more than Rs10 to Rs191.83 and Rs186.50 per liter, respectively.
“In the wake of reduction of petroleum products prices in the international market and with a view to provide relief to the consumers, the government has decided to decrease the prices of petroleum products,” the finance division said in the notification.
Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight. The new prices have already taken place across the South Asian country, which is witnessing a 47-year high inflation at 27.3 percent since August.
The reduction in petroleum prices comes days after Ishaq Dar took over as the country’s new finance minister, with many pinning hopes on him for a respite in the country’s economic woes.
Besides inflation, Pakistan is grappling with a balance-of-payment crisis, a widening current account deficit and a weakened national currency.
Dar, a member of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, on Wednesday vowed to rein in inflation and bring stability to the currency market, where the rupee had been trading close to an all-time low until a few days ago.
He also warned speculators and hoarders to dollars.
Pakistan’s currency market has shown some signs of stability after the change of command at the finance ministry, with the Pakistani rupee gaining 0.52 percent of its value against the US dollar on Friday. The greenback closed at Rs228.45 at the end of week.
