Islamabad: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has proposed a 20-30% reduction in the prices of petroleum products for the month of May, along with dispatching a summary of the same for approval – a news source reported. This reduction has been proposed in the wake of the global crude oil pricing crash caused by a supply glut earlier this month.
OGRA has sent the summary to the Energy Ministry’s Petroleum Division. Later, it will be sent to the Finance Ministry for further approval; while the pricing decision for the domestic market is expected to be announced today.
Reportedly, the price of high-speed diesel is to be reduced by PKR 33.94 (31.6%) to PKR 73.31 per litre from its existing price of PKR 107.25 per litre. High-speed diesel is primarily used for transportation and agricultural purposes.
Similarly, a reduction of PKR 20.68 (21.4%) has been proposed for petrol; which would cause the price of petrol to fall to PKR 75.9 per litre from its current rate of PKR 96.58 per litre.
OGRA has also recommended reductions in the prices of light-diesel from PKR 62.51 per litre to PKR 37.94 per litre and kerosene oil from PKR 77.45 to PKR 33.38 per litre (a reduction of 56.9%).
The move is expected to lower the inflation rate as well. Further, the government has also removed the ban on the import of diesel after its demand rose after the beginning of harvest season.
