Govt raises petrol price by Rs1.08, high-speed diesel by Rs0.51

Dawn reported that the government raised petrol prices by Rs1.08 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs0.51 per litre on Tuesday. After the revision, petrol will sell at Rs343.87 a litre and HSD at Rs370.92, with the new rates applying from September 2, a Wednesday. Taxes and duties remain at Rs114 per litre on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.

Prices were far higher earlier this year, with petrol peaking at Rs458.41 and HSD at Rs520.35 on April 3. Both fuels had climbed from Rs266 for petrol and Rs281 for HSD after the US-Iran war started on February 28. On July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said prices would be set daily, replacing the weekly revisions that had been in place since early March.

According to the Petroleum Division's notification, the cabinet and prime minister have handed Ogra the job of setting fuel prices each day using international market trends. Petrol and HSD are the main revenue earners, with monthly sales of roughly 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes compared with only 10,000 tonnes of monthly kerosene demand. Dawn also noted that petrol changes hit middle and lower-middle income households, while diesel affects heavy transport, power plants and large generators.