December 23, 2023 (MLN): The government is expected to announce further relief for the consumers, with a probable reduction of Rs1.72 per litre in petrol prices for the upcoming fortnightly pricing update.
The anticipated decline in petrol price is owed to a slight downside observed in international petroleum product prices since the last fortnight.
Conversely, the price of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) is expected to witness a slight increase of around 1 rupee due to a slight uptick in international diesel prices.
Moreover, the local currency has witnessed marginal appreciation against the USD since last fortnight's decision, standing at a weighted average rate of around PKR 283.08 per USD.
Pricing estimates till December 22 show that the international petrol price has fallen by around 0.49%, to $94.59.
On the other hand, diesel price in the international market currently stands at $101.30, up by $1.49 compared to the price on December 15.
However, it is worth noting that there is still a week left for the next pricing update, thus the future trajectory of these prices will depend largely on the global market movements and the exchange rate.
To recall, in the last fortnight, the government slashed petrol and diesel prices by Rs14 and Rs13.50 per litre, respectively
The government will announce the new prices at midnight on December 31, 2023.
