Govt cuts petrol, diesel prices again
Photo: Reuters
The government on Friday slashed the prices of petrol and diesel by up to Rs6.80 per litre for the next fortnight effective from May 23.
This is the second week the consumers are enjoying reduction in prices of high speed diesel and petrol.
Even, after the fresh reduction, the prices of petrol and high speed diesel stood still above the Rs 400 per litre.
The Ministry of Energy's Petroleum Division announced a cut in ex-depot petroleum prices for the next review period beginning May 23, 2026.
According to the official notification issued by the government, the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) was slashed by Rs6.80 per litre to Rs402.78 against the previous price of Rs409.58 previously.
The government also reduced the price of Motor Spirit, commonly known as petrol, by Rs6.00 per litre. The new price of petrol has been fixed at Rs403.78 per litre against the previous rate of Rs409.78.
The revised prices will take effect from May 23, 2026. They will remain applicable until the next pricing review.
The government had also reduced the price of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 per litre during the previous week.
The high speed diesel is widely used in transport and agriculture sectors. The sowing season of crops is underway and therefore the reduction in its prices will have a positive impact on the agriculture sector where the input costs were already high.
The price of fertilizer had already gone up due to an increase in transportation cost.
Petrol is used by motorcycles and cars. It is also an alternative to CNG but Punjab did not have indigenous gas for CNG outlets and therefore the demand of the petrol had been increased.
After facing a depression, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had exited OPEC, a cartel of oil producers. During the Iran US war, Iran and the United States had maintained a blockade of Strait of Hormuz which supplies 20 percent of global oil to the world.
Pakistan had received cargo oil ship from Kuwait to overcome the oil shortage crisis in the country amid a deadlock in the peace talks between Iran and United States (US).However, there were reports that two countries were nearing to close a deal.
Meanwhile, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has notified a sharp increase of up to 28 per cent in liquefied natural gas prices for the month of May, marking a significant upward revision in energy costs for consumers and distribution companies.
According to an official notification issued by OGRA, LNG prices for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) have been increased by $3.51 per MMBtu, taking the new price to $16.04 per MMBtu. Similarly, for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) system, LNG has become costlier by $3.43 per MMBtu, with the revised price now set at $16.98 per MMBtu.
Sources indicated that the determination of May's prices was unusually delayed due to the regulatory authority's late decision-making, which resulted in a significant lag in finalising the pricing structure for the month.