People wait in line for gasoline at a gas station in Islamabad.
The Government of Pakistan has reduced the prices of petrol by Rs 6 and High Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs 6.80. As a result, the price of a liter of petrol here was Rs 403.78 (Pak Rupee) and diesel was priced at Rs 402.78 per litre. The new prices came into effect today, May 23.
The Pakistani government is cutting petrol and diesel prices for the second week in a row. Earlier, last week, the prices of both were reduced by Rs 5 each.
Help for ordinary people and the transport sector
After continuous rise in prices in recent days, the decline is expected to bring some relief to the budgets of the middle and lower middle class as petrol is mainly used in private vehicles, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers. On the other hand, high speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector and for running large generators.
Prices are determined every Friday evening.
For some time now, the Pakistani government has been revising oil prices every Friday evening. In fact, Pakistan has been facing a fuel crisis ever since the war between America and Iran (which is currently suspended) began on February 28th.
Petrol fell by Rs 11 and diesel by Rs 11.80 in a week.
Earlier, on May 16, the Pakistani government reduced the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 5-5. At that time, the price of petrol in Pakistan had dropped to ₹409.78 per liter and high speed diesel (HSD) to ₹409.58 per liter.
A week earlier, on May 9, the price of petrol increased by 14.92 rupees and that of diesel by 15 rupees per liter. Immediately after the outbreak of war on 28 February, the government increased the price of petrol and diesel by £55 per liter on 6 March. On April 2, gasoline prices were increased by 43% and high-speed diesel prices by 55%.
In India, petrol prices have risen by 4.77 rupees and diesel by 4.81 rupees over 9 days.
Meanwhile, petrol and diesel prices in India have risen again today. In Delhi, petrol prices increased by 87 paise to Rs 99.51 per litre. Diesel price has increased by 91 paise per liter. Its price reached Rs 92.49.
Additionally, CNG prices in Delhi-NCR have increased by ₹1 per kg. With this change, CNG will now be available at ₹81.09 per kg in Delhi. This is the third time in the last 9 days that petrol, diesel and CNG prices have increased.
4 days ago, on May 19, petrol and diesel prices increased by an average of 90 paise per liter. And on May 15, prices also increased by £3 per liter. Meanwhile, CNG prices increased by Rs 2 on May 15 and then by Rs 1 on May 18.
Why have prices for gasoline and diesel fuel increased?
The main reason for this increase is fluctuations in crude oil prices in the international market. Before the war between Iran and America began, crude oil prices were $70 and have now risen to over $100 per barrel.
Oil companies have come under pressure due to rising crude oil prices. Therefore, companies took this step to compensate for losses. If crude oil prices continue to rise for a long time, gasoline and diesel prices could rise further.