Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a televised address on Thursday, announced that there would be no change in the prices of petroleum products for the next fortnight. The decision to maintain the current fuel prices was made in consideration of international rates, he stated.
Minister Dar explained that there had been a slight increase in the international prices of crude oil and gas in recent days. He also highlighted that the incumbent government had successfully reduced the prices of diesel and petrol by Rs35 and Rs20 respectively in the last 30 days.
Addressing rumors of a potential Rs3.5 per litre increase in diesel prices, the finance minister dismissed such claims during a press conference, reaffirming that there would be no changes in the prices of petrol and diesel until June 30.
During the period from May 16 to June 1, the government had reduced the price of diesel by Rs35 per litre, while the price of petrol had fallen by Rs20, according to Minister Dar. However, global oil prices experienced a slight increase from June 1 to June 15, leading the government to decide on maintaining the current prices.
Notably, on Sunday, the first-ever Russian oil ship, named ‘Pure Point,’ arrived at Karachi Port, carrying over 45,000 metric tons of crude. The crude oil cargo, arranged under a new deal between Islamabad and Moscow, is being offloaded at the port. Payment for the shipment was made in Chinese currency, signaling a significant shift in Pakistan’s export payment policy away from the US dollar.
On May 31, the government had previously announced a reduction in petroleum product prices. The price of petrol was lowered by Rs8 per litre, while light-speed and high-speed diesel saw a reduction of Rs5 per litre. The price of kerosene oil remained unchanged. As a result, the new prices became Rs262 for petrol, Rs253 for high-speed diesel, Rs147 for light-speed diesel, and Rs164.70 for kerosene oil.
