ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to keep the price of petrol unchanged for another fifteen days, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced late Friday in a bid to save the masses from the crushing weight of already high inflation.
To comply with tough conditionalities imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package, Pakistan hiked fuel prices over the past year, pushing inflation to historic highs.
“Effective after 12 am tonight, there will be no increase in the price of petrol and old prices will remain in place,” Dar announced in a late-night press conference.
“There will be an increase of Rs7.50 per liter in the price of diesel for the next fifteen days.”
The finance minister added that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had tried its best to keep the prices of petroleum products at a minimum after which the government had approved the new rates.
Pakistan’s energy imports during the last fiscal year were $23.3 billion, 29 percent of the country’s total imports. During the current fiscal year, the country imported energy products worth $7.7 billion, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Pakistan keeps petrol prices unchanged for another 15 days
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Pakistan keeps petrol prices unchanged for another 15 days
- Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says government increased price of diesel by Rs7.50 per liter
- Pakistan hiked fuel prices over past year, pushing inflation to unprecedented levels
IMF discussing electricity tariffs revisions with Pakistan
- Pakistan announced proposed tariff overhaul which analysts said would lift inflation while easing pressure on industry
- The talks come as Islamabad seeks to meet conditions under its $7 billion bailout with another review of program approaching
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund is discussing proposed electricity tariff revisions with Pakistan authorities, the fund said in a statement to Reuters on Saturday, adding that the burden of the revisions should not fall on middle- or lower-income households.
“The ongoing discussions with the authorities will assess whether the proposed tariff revisions are consistent with these commitments and evaluate their potential impact on macroeconomic stability, including inflation,” it said in its statement.
Pakistan announced proposed tariff overhaul which analysts said would lift inflation while easing pressure on industry, as it seeks to meet conditions under its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) as another review of the program approaches.
The EFF is a longer-term IMF loan program designed to help countries address deep-seated economic weaknesses and medium-term balance-of-payments problems.
Electricity carries significant weight in Pakistan’s consumer price index, making tariff adjustments highly sensitive at a time when inflation, though sharply lower than its near-40 percent peak in 2023, remains a key political and economic pressure point.
Pakistan’s power sector has long been weighed down by circular debt — a chain of unpaid bills and subsidies that builds up across generation companies, distributors and the government — prompting repeated tariff increases under IMF-backed reforms since 2023.
The accumulation of power sector circular debt has been contained within program targets, supported by improved performance on recoveries and loss prevention, the Fund added.
