Govt raises petrol price by Rs5, diesel by Rs31 per litre

July 18, 2026 (MLN): The government has raised the ex-depot prices of Motor Spirit (MS) and High Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs5.44 and Rs31.05 per litre, respectively, for the period from July 18 to July 20, 2026.

With the revision, the price of petrol has been raised to Rs316.15 per litre from Rs310.71, while HSD will now be sold at Rs354.35 per litre against the previous price of Rs323.30, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Energy's Petroleum Division.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Energy's Petroleum Division, the Petroleum Levy on HSD has been fixed at Rs70.82 per litre for sales through retail outlets and Rs79.46 per litre for direct sale, while the levy on Motor Spirit stands at Rs80.00 per litre for retail sales and Rs88.64 per litre for direct sale.

A Climate Support Levy of Rs5 per litre has been retained on both products.

The levies on H.O.B.C. (97 RON) and MS (95 RON) have been set at Rs105 per litre for retail sales and Rs107.15 per litre for direct sale, while Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) and Light Diesel Oil (LDO) will continue to attract levies of Rs20.36 and Rs15.84 per litre, respectively.

Furnace Oil will carry a levy of Rs82,077 per metric ton, along with a Climate Support Levy of Rs5,330 per metric ton. The notification, which supersedes the previous one dated July 10, takes effect from July 18, 2026, till further order.

A breakdown of the price structure shows the ex-refinery price of HSD at Rs257.59 per litre and that of MS at Rs207.69 per litre.

After adding the Inland Freight Equalisation Margin (IFEM) of Rs4.43 and Rs6.95 per litre, respectively, along with OMC and dealer margins, the price before the Petroleum Development Levy stood at Rs278.53 for HSD and Rs231.15 for MS.

With the levy and Climate Support Levy added, the final ex-depot prices work out to Rs354.35 per litre for HSD and Rs316.15 per litre for MS, with no general sales tax applicable. SKO's ex-refinery price was recorded at Rs246.33 per litre, translating into a fixed sale price of Rs276.66 per litre after IFEM, margins and levy.

The increase comes after the government authorized the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to determine prices of petroleum products on a daily basis in line with international market trends, moving away from the earlier weekly pricing mechanism.

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