The federal government on Monday announced a massive reduction in the prices of petroleum products in the country following a declining price trend in the international oil markets. “The government has decided to reduce the existing prices of petroleum products in order to pass on the benefits of decreasing price trend of petroleum products in the international market and provide maximum relief to the masses,” the Finance Ministry said in a press release. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has been reduced by Rs30 per litre whereas the tariffs of petrol have been cut by Rs12 per litre. As per the official notification, the new price of petrol has been set at Rs270 whereas the tariff of HSD has been fixed at Rs258. Likewise, the price of kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO) have also been reduced by Rs12 per litre respectively. The price of the former has been fixed at Rs164.07 and the latter at Rs152.68 per litre. He said the prices will come into effect from midnight on May 16 and that the change will stay in effect for the next 15 days. Making the announcement, Finance Minister Dar hoped that the prices of other commodities would also come down with the reduction of prices in petroleum products. He also urged the transporters to reduce their tariffs for the benefit of the already burdened masses. The appeal came as the cash-strapped nation faces runaway inflation, which remains at a historic high of 36.4% – the fastest in South Asia, even leaving behind the defaulted nation of Sri Lanka. It should be noted here that in the last 14 days, the price of crude oil in the Brent oil market was as high as $77.44 per barrel.