A notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) says the increase was to match a similar trend in the international market during the month of October.
The highest raise was in the prices of high octane blending component (HOBC), which went up by Rs7 per litre from Rs79.56 to Rs86.67. The price of premium gasoline (petrol) was increased from Rs66.99 to Rs72.96, recording an increase of Rs5.97 per litre.
Similarly, light diesel oil will now be sold at Rs66.61, up from the previous rate of Rs62.34 per litre. The price of kerosene has been set at Rs70.95 after an increase of more than Rs5.
The new prices will be applicable from midnight November 1. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority is an independent body and reviews prices of petroleum at the end of every month.
The raise comes after several months during which the prices had seen a continuous downward trend.
Ogra spokesperson Syed Jawad Nasim told the media that the authority had no option but to readjust prices upwards because a cash-starved government could not pick up losses by giving subsidies.
He pointed out that the authority had launched an inquiry into reports that owners of fuel stations across the country had already suspended supplies to consumers in anticipation of the raise. “We are probing into it and will penalise those found guilty,” he said.
The international oil prices have been showing upward trends as Brent (London) was traded at $82.25 a barrel and the basket of Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) rose from $78.71 to $79.26 per barrel last week.
Average Arab light crude oil price stood at $74.39 per barrel during September, which forced the government to announce a nominal cut in prices of petroleum products in line with reduction in the global prices, effective from October 1, 2010.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2010.
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