KARACHI: Pakistan’s government said on Friday it had approved a revision in petroleum dealers’ profit margins on petrol and high-speed diesel, with the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) announcing the postponement of its indefinite nationwide strike from Aug. 15.
The issue stemmed from Pakistan’s transition to daily fuel price revisions since July 21, following renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran that have driven volatility in global oil markets.
Islamabad traditionally revised petroleum prices every fortnight but switched to weekly adjustments after the fighting first erupted between the US and Iran in late February.
Petroleum dealers wanted the daily pricing system scrapped, an increase in their margins to 8 percent from the current fixed rate of Rs8 per liter, and the withdrawal of a 0.8 percent deduction on credit card transactions.
“The ECC (Economic Coordination Committee) considered a summary submitted by the Petroleum Division and deliberated on the matter regarding revision of dealers’ margins on Motor Spirit (MS) and High-Speed Diesel (HSD),” the Finance Division said, adding that the ECC approved a “revision in dealers’ margin.”
It did not say how much increase was approved in margins.
Meanwhile, the PPDA announced postponement of its strike after the government “assured it of an increase in dealers’ profit margins” on petroleum products, Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper reported on Friday.
“The petroleum minister has indicated an increase of Rs1.34 in the profit margin after obtaining special approval from the prime minister,” the newspaper quoted PPDA Chairman Malik Khuda Baksh as saying.
On the issue of daily pricing of petroleum products, Baksh said the government’s proposed solution would be implemented in three stages and would take around two weeks.
“The government has accepted our demand for a minimum period for determining prices on a daily basis,” he said, adding that dealers had proposed fixing prices for one month.
“The government may agree to determining prices for seven days.”
