March 01, 2023 (MLN): The federal government on Tuesday decreased the petrol prices by Rs5 per litre to Rs267 per litre for the next two weeks, Finance Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar revealed while making an announcement during a press conference.
He also mentioned that diesel prices will remain the same at Rs280 per litre until the next review.
The Finance Minister further shared that light diesel oil's price has been decreased by Rs12 per litre, bringing it down to Rs184.68 per litre.
Similarly, the rate of kerosene oil has been reduced by Rs15 per litre, and its price has now been fixed at Rs187.73 per litre. These new prices will take effect from midnight tonight, March 1, and will remain in place until March 15.
The decrease in petrol and diesel prices comes as a relief to the already burdened people of Pakistan, who have been struggling with inflation. The reduction has been made possible by the decline in global petrol and diesel prices. Meanwhile, the appreciation of the rupee against the dollar over the last two weeks has helped reduce the import price of petrol and diesel.
Interestingly, the market participants/experts had predicted that the federal government would hike the petrol and diesel prices to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose loan is critical for the cash-strapped nation.
However, the government's decision to reduce the prices has gone against those predictions.
