ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance minister Ishaq Dar announced to cut down the rates of petroleum products on Tuesday, saying only the price of high-diesel would remain unchanged while the rate of petrol would be reduced by Rs5 for the next two weeks.
The country revises petroleum rates on a fortnightly basis due to the fluctuating prices in the international market.
Last month, Pakistan increased these prices by as much as Rs35 per liter while striving to meet some stringent conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume a $7 billion loan program.
“The price of diesel will remain the same but we are reducing the prices of petrol by Rs5, kerosene oil by Rs15 per liter, and light diesel oil by Rs12,” Dar said in a video message.
With the new adjustments, high-speed diesel will continue to be sold for Rs280 per liter. However, the new rate of patrol will be Rs267 per liter while kerosene oil and light diesel oil will be sold for Rs187.73 and Rs184.68 per liter, respectively.
Pakistan’s petroleum import bill stood at $23.3 billion in the last fiscal year (FY22), which was 105 percent higher than the year before that.
According to official statistics, the country has already imported energy products worth $10.6 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY23).