Daily Times

The federal government has decided to increase the price of petrol by Rs10 per litre for the next 15 days, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced Saturday.

In a statement, the Finance Division said the rationale behind a hike in the price of petroleum products was the “increase in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variation”.

Petrol’s price has been increased to Rs282 per litre, while high-speed diesel and light diesel oil rates will remain stable at Rs293 per litre and Rs174.68 per litre, respectively, the statement from the Finance Division read. However, an increase of Rs5.78 per litre has been made to the price of kerosene oil, moving it from Rs180.28 per litre to Rs186.07 per litre.

At the outset of his address, the minister said the prices of petroleum products had increased in the international market in the past 15 days. Oil prices rose on Tuesday on expectations of potential economic stimulus by China, healthy demand in the rest of Asia and a drop in US crude stockpiles.

Brent crude futures rose 64 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $84.82 a barrel at 0557 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures gained 67 cents, or 0.8pc, to $80.41 a barrel. Crude futures also climbed as the dollar eased on expectations that the US Federal Reserve was getting closer to ending its rate hike cycle. A weaker greenback makes oil cheaper for those holding other currencies.

Signs of strong fuel demand in India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, in March also supported prices. Last month, fuel consumption jumped by 5pc from a year earlier to a record 4.83 million barrels per day. Oil futures have climbed more than 5pc since the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, surprised the market last week with a new round of production cuts starting in May.