Govt likely to announce prices of petroleum products today

The federal government is expected to announce the new prices of petroleum products today. [Saturday] After the return of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif from Uzbekistan.

Pakistan reviews the prices of petroleum products every two weeks.

According to sources, the Prime Minister’s Office has informed the Finance Ministry about the announcement of POL prices.

Sources also said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) did not propose a cut in petrol and diesel prices in the summary sent to the Finance Division. Instead, POL prices are likely to increase marginally.

Sources say that the final decision regarding the prices of POL is expected today.

Sources revealed that due to the delay in the announcement, petrol pumps have stopped purchasing petroleum products, which may lead to shortage.

Earlier, The News had reported that the price of petrol is likely to decrease by Rs 9.62 per liter from Rs 235.98 per liter to Rs 226.36 per liter in the next fortnight.

However, diesel price is expected to increase marginally by Rs 3.04 per litre, from Rs 247.26 per liter to Rs 250.30 per litre, for the said period.

Sources said that amid these speculations, petrol pump owners have stopped purchasing petroleum products.

It is learned that there has been no change in petrol prices as Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has not given his instructions yet.

Sources familiar with the matter say that the Prime Minister has the authority to approve changes in the prices of petroleum products.

But Prime Minister Shehbaz was attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State (CHS) summit, where he also met Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and others.

“Finance ministry is waiting for instructions from the prime minister, once the prime minister decides on the summary sent to them, only then will the new rates be released,” sources said.