Rs4 hike in petrol price greets consumers on New Year

New price part of efforts to meet target of petroleum levy agreed with IMF

ISLAMABAD:

As the bells toll for another new year, petrol prices will go dearer following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s approval for an increase in oil prices of up to Rs4 per litre.

The new prices, part of the government’s commitments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will come into effect from January 1 (today).

According to a notification issued by the Finance Division, the price of petrol and high-speed diesel(HSD) will rise by Rs4 per litre for the first 15 days of January 2022.

After the increase, the price of petrol will go up from the previous Rs140.82 per litre to Rs144.82 per litre, while the price of high-speed diesel will jump to Rs141.62 per litre from the previous Rs137.62 per litre.

On December 15, the government had approved partial relief to the oil consumers and reduced the rates of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs5 per litre in line with declining oil prices.

The Ogra had proposed a reduction in prices of petroleum products by Rs8 to 10 per litre and recommended Rs10.77 and Rs7.73 per litre reduction in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD), respectively.

But the Finance Ministry in a statement said that Prime Minister Imran Khan rejected the Ograsummary. However, it said that the prime minister advised increasing the price of petroleum products up to Rs4 per litre in order to meet the target of the petroleum levy agreed with IMF.

Finance Ministry further said that sales tax on petrol and diesel had already been adjusted downwards compared to December 16 to keep the oil prices lower.

Consumers in Punjab were already using imported gas. The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) had also suspended gas supply to CNG stations in Sindh and Balochistan.

HSD has widely used in the transport and farm sectors. Kerosene oil is used in remote areas for cooking where LPG is unavailable. LDO is used in industries.

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Similarly, the government increased the price of HSD by Rs4 to Rs 141.62 per litre against Rs137.62 per litre.

The rate of kerosene oil was increased by Rs3.95 to Rs113.53 per litre as against Rs1209.53 per litre. The price of LDO had shot up to Rs 111.06 per litre from Rs107.06 registering a hike of Rs 4.15 per litre.

LPG prices

However, there is good news for the LPG consumers as Ogra has reduced its price by Rs6 per kilogramme.

LPG is used in remote areas where kerosene oil is not available for cooking purposes. However, in the winter season, its demand has increased due to the shortage of pipe gas.

Despite the cut in prices, the LPG will still be available at the highest price of Rs207 per litre.

Domestic cylinders will be available at Rs2321 to the customers.