LPG prices may rise by Rs3 per kg

Fuel’s international price for November contracts has risen.

KARACHI:

The international Saudi Aramco contract price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has surged by $25 to total $1,003 per ton for November 2012, raising local prices by Rs3,000 to total Rs128,000 per ton.

All Pakistan LPG Distributors Association (APLDA) Chairman Abdul Hadi Khan made an announcement to this effect here on Wednesday. He also notified that prices of propane and butane have been increased by $25 and $15 respectively.

Hadi said he anticipated that the domestic price of LPG could be increased by Rs3 per kilogramme (kg) in accordance with the rise in the international price. Similarly, the price of an 11.8kg cylinder could be increased by Rs35.50, and 45.4kg cylinder by Rs137, he said.

He also clarified that local producers and marketing companies had not yet increased the prices of locally produced or imported LPG in the country in accordance with the Saudi Aramco price. “There was a wrong impression that LPG prices were increased on October 31, 2012 (Wednesday) in the local market. Consumers should avoid purchasing LPG at such artificially inflated prices,” he said; adding that local producers will likely raise their prices on November 3, 2012.

Hadi said local LPG prices were 20% lower if compared to the international price, due to which LNG import has slowed down. “But as the winter season begins, LPG demand is likely to surge by 50-60% to reach between 1,900-2,100 tons per day,” he noted.

He said that local producers have neither increased their production nor enhanced their production capacity; therefore, it will be difficult to meet domestic demand through locally-produced LPG alone. He pointed out that local production was ranging between only 1,200-1,300 tons per day.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2012.