Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday, while rejecting Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) summary for petrol price hike by Rs 13.18 per litre, approved an increase of Rs 2.7 per litre.
OGRA had proposed an increase of Rs 13.18 in petrol price, Rs 12.12 in the prices of high-speed diesel and Rs 11.1 in that of kerosene oil. The regulator also recommended the price hike of light diesel by Rs 6.62 per litre, effective from February 1.
However, considering the public interest, the prime minister approved an increase of Rs 2.70 per litre in petrol price, Rs 2.88 for high-speed diesel, and Rs 3.54 and Rs 3.00 in the prices of kerosene oil and light diesel, respectively. Following the increase, the new petrol price is Rs 111.9 per litre, while high-speed diesel will be sold for Rs 116.07, kerosene for Rs 80.19 and light diesel for 79.23. The new prices may undergo revision before February 15. A similar revision was done on January 15 for the remaining two weeks of the month.
Petrol is widely used in motorbikes and cars whereas high-speed diesel is used in transport and agriculture sectors. Therefore, the increase in their prices would have an inflationary impact on the masses as they are widely used. On the other hand, kerosene is used in remote areas like northern parts of the country for cooking purposes where liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or natural gas is not available.
Meanwhile, light diesel oil is used in industries. Consumers are paying two types of taxes, which include petroleum levy and general sales tax that play an important role in the increase in oil prices. This is the third time the government had jacked up the prices of petroleum products in the country. On January 15, it had increased the price of petrol by Rs 3.20 while the tariff of high-speed diesel was hiked by Rs 2.95. Earlier, the sale of petroleum products grew in double digits in December last year following consistent revival of economic activities as major contribution came from the spike in demand for furnace oil to produce electricity during the on-going gas crisis.
