Govt increases petrol price by Rs0.77, cuts high-speed diesel price by Rs1.03

Dawn reported that fuel rates were revised on Monday: petrol went up by Rs0.77 a litre, whereas the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) was lowered by Rs1.03 a litre. The new rates apply from Tuesday, September 1, according to a Petroleum Division notification. After the change, petrol will be sold at Rs342.79 a litre and HSD at Rs370.41.

Taxes and duties still stand at Rs114 a litre on petrol and Rs100 a litre on diesel, the paper noted. HSD has retreated from a peak of Rs520.35 on April 3, after rising from Rs281 once the US-Iran war began on February 28. Petrol followed a similar path, peaking at Rs458.41 on April 3 after starting from Rs266 in early March.

On July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would be fixed daily because of volatile international rates, after hostilities resumed between Iran and the US. The cabinet and prime minister later assigned Ogra the task of setting daily rates based on global market trends. Petrol mostly fuels private cars, small vehicles, rickshaws and motorbikes, so its cost weighs on middle and lower-middle income households.