Petroleum products prices likely to go up

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has recommended an increase of Rs10.50 and Re1 in the prices of high-speed diesel and motor spirit, respectively,

In a fortnightly summary sent to the Ministry of Finance, the regulatory authority suggested a hike in the prices of kerosene and light-diesel oil by Rs5.50/ litre each.

If the Ministry of Finance implements the summary of Ogra accordingly, the new prices of MS petrol will be 119.30/litre; HSD, Rs125.80/litre; kerosene, Rs92.30/litre; and LDO, Rs90.23.

Sources in the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority said the suggested prices of petroleum products in the summary have been calculated on the existing percentage of the general sales tax and petroleum development levy.

The Ministry of Finance can reduce GST or PDL to pass-on the minimum impact on the prices of petroleum products, they added.

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin in a media briefing on Tuesday said that to keep the prices of the petroleum products under control, as the government is charging nominal PDL, despite the fact that in the budget it set a collection target of Rs650 billion, which is now unlikely to be achieved.

The experts said though the prices of crude oil didn’t increase significantly, the devaluation of the rupee is a major reason for the increase in oil prices.