Finance Minister announces new petroleum prices for next fortnight

ISLAMABAD: The government on Sunday decided to increase the prices of MS 92 RON Petrol by Rs. 1.77 to Rs. 68.35 per liter and that of Hi Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs. 2.00 to Rs. 79.22 per liter with effect from January 16 till January 21, 2017, Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said.

In a statement here, the finance minister said the price of Petrol had been increased in line with Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA)'s recommendation, while the price of HSD was being increased by cutting almost half of the increase recommended by OGRA.

He said that Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and OGRA had recommended an increase of Rs. 1.77 per liter in the price of MS 92 RON Petrol, Rs. 3.94 per liter in the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD), Rs. 14.31 per liter in the price of Kerosene Oil and Rs. 10.11 per liter in the price of Light Diesel Oil (LDO), with effect from January 16, 2017.

The Minister stated that, in line with the Prime Minister's instructions to provide maximum relief to the common man, and keeping in view that Kerosene Oil and LDO is used by the low income segments of the country's population, it has been decided to maintain the prices of Kerosene Oil and LDO at the current level till January 31, 2017.

This decision has been taken also keeping in view the fact that Kerosene Oil caters to the energy needs of the poor, especially in the winter season.

The Finance Minister highlighted that, in order to maintain stability, prices have been maintained since April 2016 despite an increase of around 43 per cent in international oil prices during 2016.

He said the government has been absorbing the negative financial impact due to the government's decisions to not pass on price increases to the end consumers.

He highlighted that, prior to today, only partial increase in MS Petrol and HSD was passed on to the end consumers for the month of December 2016 only, compared to OGRA's recommendations.

The Ministry of Finance will bear a revenue loss of approximately Rs 2.75 billion as a result, of this decision to not pass on the actual increase in petroleum products' prices to the people of Pakistan.