KARACHI: The government is likely to cut prices of petroleum products ahead of the upcoming federal budget 2023-24 – expected to be announced on June 9 – to provide relief to inflation-weary people, industry officials told JEE News.
Petrol price is expected to be reduced by Rs 10 per liter from June 1 following the reduction in ex-refinery price.
Industry officials say that the ex-refinery price of petrol is expected to decrease by Rs 10 to Rs 12 for the next fortnight, but the exchange rate adjustment will allow the government to give relief of only Rs 10 per litre.
“The ex-refinery price of diesel is looking to come down by Rs 4-5 per liter for the next review and the government may pass on the impact in the next fortnightly review,” said an industry official.
During the last price review, the government had reduced the price of diesel by Rs 30 from Rs 288 to Rs 258 per litre. Similarly, the price of petrol decreased from Rs 282 to Rs 12 270 paise per litre.
| Product | Prices w.e.f 1.05.2023 | Prices w.e.f 16.05.2023 | Decrease |
| Petrol | Rs282 | Rs272 | Rs10 |
| High-speed diesel | Rs288 | Rs258 | Rs30 |
| Kerosene | Rs176.07 | Rs164.07 | Rs12 |
| Light diesel oil | Rs164.68 | Rs152.68 | Rs12 |
Officials said the global oil prices didn’t reflect any major decline and slightly increased whereas the exchange rate in the interbank market didn’t witness any major fluctuation during the fortnight.
The government has been under pressure to reduce petroleum prices, which have been rising steadily in recent months. The recent decline in global oil prices has provided some relief, but the government is still facing difficulty in keeping prices down.
The new petroleum prices will be announced on May 31.
