ISLAMABAD: On Saturday the government decided to pass a partial price relief on the consumers od petrol and diesel.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi continued the policy of former premier Nawaz Sharif and approved half of the price reduction projected by the regulator for petrol and high-speed diesel.
The remaining is being absorbed by increasing the rates of sales tax on the two petroleum products.
The government failed to alert the new prices for August as there was no cabinet in place after the disqualification of premier Sharif by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case.
After the new prime minister and federal cabinet took the positions, the government cut the prices of petrol and diesel, taking indication from movements in the international market.
It was announced on Saturday by the Finance Minster Ishaq Dar that the revised petroleum prices would be effective from the 6 of August till the end of the month.
Dar said in a statement that it had been decided with approval of the prime minister to reduce the petrol price by Rs1.80 per litre and diesel price by Rs2.50 per litre. New prices will be Rs69.50 per litre for petrol and Rs77.40 per litre for diesel.
The minister said that the rates of kerosene oil and light diesel oil would not be increased, though a substantial hike had been recommended by the regulator.
As most of the consumers of these products were low income people so the prices would remain unchanged at Rs44 per litre.
The minister further clarified that the price change decision could not be taken on July 31 because there was no federal cabinet in place at that time; therefore, for the first five days of August the prices would remain the same as that of July 2017.
According to the Ogra summary, the price of high-speed diesel, which is mostly used in transport vehicles and the agriculture sector, was proposed to be cut by Rs5.07 per litre (6.3 per cent). Apart from farmers and transporters, this price reduction could have a favorable effect on the rate of inflation in the country.
Petrol price was proposed to fall by Rs3.67 (5.1 per cent) to Rs67.63 per litre from Rs71.30 per litre.
Kerosene oil, was to be hiked by Rs13 per litre (29.5 per cent), standing at Rs57 against the existing price of Rs44.
The price of light diesel oil, consumed mostly by industrial units, was proposed to be increased by Rs10.01 per litre (22.8 per cent), to reach Rs54.01 contrast to the current Rs44 per litre. It has also been maintained at the existing level of Rs44 per litre.
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