The possibility of increasing petroleum price in Pakistan on 15 April 2023 on the demand of IMF
Experts were of the view that the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar and the rise in international oil prices over the past two weeks could push up local prices, there is possibility of increasing petroleum price in Pakistan on 15 April 2023
Pakistan announces revision of petroleum prices every 15 days based on changes in international oil prices and other domestic factors including exchange rates.
The country had maintained the prices of petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) for the next fortnight starting from 01 April 2023 on 31 March 2023.
About Petroleum Price
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, while announcing the petroleum prices for the next fortnight, has maintained the prices of petrol and diesel at Rs. 272 and Rs. 293 per liter respectively. However, the prices of kerosene and light diesel oil have decreased by Rs 10 to Rs 180.29 and Rs 174.68 respectively.
پنجاب میں پیٹرول کی قلت کی وجہ سامنے آگئی
Since the beginning of this month, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) has seen a sharp decline against the dollar due to the uncertainty of funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other friendly countries. The local currency recorded PKR 287.85 against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market on April 05, 2023.
On the other hand, the international prices of the benchmark Brent crude also recorded an increase due to the reduction in production by OPEC in the last few days. By the end of March 2023, Brent crude was trading at $73 per barrel. However, it rose to $84 per barrel in the first week of April 2023.
Pakistan is a net importer of petroleum products to meet its domestic demand. Any revision in exchange rate and increase in international oil prices affects local prices.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country’s oil import bill fell to $11.88 billion in the first eight months (July-February) of the fiscal year 2022/2023.
The country’s petroleum import bill declined by 8.28 percent to $11.88 billion during the eight months of the current fiscal year from $12.95 billion in the corresponding months of the previous fiscal year.
However, on the other hand, the import bill increased by 23% as a result of the massive depreciation of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR). In rupee terms, the petroleum bill rose to PKR 2.72 trillion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as against PKR 2.21 trillion in the same months of the previous fiscal year.
In the petroleum group, imports of petroleum products during July-February 2022-2023 declined by 14.47 percent to $5.35 billion as against $6.26 billion in the same period last fiscal.
