Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged for the month of May.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday said the government will provide subsidy to maintain prices.

He said that Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and OGRA had recommended an increase of Rs. 15.19/Litre in the price of Kerosene Oil, increase of Rs. 10.65/Litre in the price of Light Diesel Oil (LDO), decrease of Rs. 1.20/Litre in the price of MS 92 RON Petrol, and decrease of Rs. 1.10/Litre in the price of High Speed Diesel (HSD), with effect from 1st May.

The Minister stated that, in line with the Prime Minister’s instructions to provide maximum relief to the common man, and keeping in view that Kerosene Oil and LDO is used by the low income segments of the country’s population, it has been decided to maintain the prices of Kerosene Oil and LDO at the current level till31st May 2017.

This decision has been taken by keeping in view the fact that Kerosene Oil caters to the energy needs of the poor.

In order to maintain the prices of both Kerosene Oil and LDO at current levels, the government will be forgoing all applicable taxes and duties on these petroleum products and In the case of Kerosene Oil, a government subsidy would be provided to maintain the price at the current level.

The Minister further announced that the Prime Minister has directed to maintain the prices of MS 92 RON Petrol and HSD at existing levels till 31st May 2017.

The Finance Minister highlighted that the government has absorbed significant impact of price increases since April 2016 and has suffered considerable loss of revenue. During this period only partial increases have been passed on since December 2016.