OGRA recommends price hike of up to Rs13 per litre

Increase suggested due to significant depreciation of rupee against dollar

ISLAMABAD: Consumers are likely to face hike in oil prices by up to Rs13 per litre in November 2018 following the significant depreciation of rupee against the dollar.

Officials in the Petroleum Division told The Express Tribune that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had recommended increasing the prices of petroleum products by Rs13 per litre in a monthly revision for October.

The regulator proposed an increase of Rs9 per litre in the prices of petrol and Rs13 per litre in high speed diesel (HSD). The prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO) were proposed to be raised by Rs6 per litre.

The Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) government had decided to keep oil prices unchanged for October 2018 in a bid to provide relief to the consumers.

However, Ogra had recommended an upward revision of Rs4.41 per litre in the prices of petroleum products for October. The regulator has suggested a massive increase in prices of HSD, which is widely used in agriculture and transport sectors.

Therefore, increase in its price would pose serious threat to the daily life of consumers. However, officials said that the government was likely to pass on partial increase in its price to provide relief to the consumers.

Kerosene oil is used in remote areas where LPG is not available for cooking purpose, while LDO is used in industries. The increase in prices of petrol and HSD directly affect the consumers.

In Punjab, the local gas supply to compressed natural gas (CNG) retail outlets had been disconnected and they remained closed for a couple of years. Owing to this many consumers switched to petrol, which led to an increase in its demand.