Govt keeps petrol, diesel prices unchanged

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says current prices would remain in effect until June 30

The federal government on Thursday announced that the prices of petroleum products would remain unchanged for the next 15 days.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that the current prices would remain in effect until June 30.

The minister stated that during the last two rounds, the prices of petroleum products were significantly reduced, saying that the tariffs of high-speed diesel were reduced by Rs35 whereas petrol saw a reduction of Rs20.

Read more: Petrol price likely to fall by Rs1.87 per litre

He said that the prices of petroleum products slightly increased in the international market from June 1 to June 15, therefore, the government decided to keep the prices unchanged.

Petrol is used in motorbikes and small cars and it is also an alternate to compressed natural gas (CNG).

The HSD is widely used in agriculture and transport sectors and the LDO is used in industry. The reduction in the HSD price will have healthy impact on farmers and may lead to cut in the cost of transportation of goods.

The kerosene oil is used in remote areas of Pakistan, especially the northern part of the country where the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is not available for cooking purpose. The army is also a key user of kerosene oil in northern part of the country.