Latest petrol price in Pakistan
The price of petrol has been moved up to Rs272 per litre after an increase of Rs22.20, a press release from the Finance Division read Wednesday night, noting that the surge has taken place due to the rupee’s devaluation against the dollar.
The price of high-speed diesel has been increased to Rs280 per litre after a hike of Rs17.20. Kerosene oil will now be available at Rs202.73 per litre following a Rs12.90 hike. Meanwhile, light diesel oil will be available at Rs196.68 per litre after an increase of Rs9.68.
The new prices will come into effect from 12am tonight.ProductExisting prices w.e.f 29/1/2023New prices w.e.f 16/2/2023Increase Petrol249.8027222.20High speel diesel262.8028017.20Kerosene189.83202.7312.90Light diesel oil187196.869.68
The increase in the price of petroleum products was one of the preconditions of the Washington-based lender, which will lead to a hike in the already record-high inflation, coupled with the new fiscal measures undertaken through the ‘mini-budget’.
Senior economist Katrina Ell, associated with Moody’s Analytics, had predicted that inflation in Pakistan could average 33% in the first half of 2023 before trending lower, and a bailout from the IMF alone is unlikely to put the economy back on track.
Through the “mini-budget”, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led federal government aims to reduce the budget deficit and broaden its tax collection net.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued an SRO, increasing the standard 17% general sales tax (GST) to 18%, for collecting taxes worth Rs115 billion, while the remaining Rs55 billion will be generated through other measures in connection with the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023 — or the ‘mini-budget’.
Pakistan hikes petrol price by 22.20 rupees a litre – finance ministry
Pakistan has hiked the price of petrol by 22.20 rupees ($0.0835) a litre to 272 rupees ($1.02) effective on Thursday because of the plummeting value of the country’s currency, the finance ministry said in a statement.
The Pakistani rupee has fallen sharply against the dollar since an artificial cap on the local currency was removed last month to allow its value to be decided by a market-based exchange rate.
The South Asian country is locked in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of critical bailout funds, and with roughly enough reserves to meet only three weeks of imports, Pakistan is looking to increase revenue despite multi-decade high inflation of 27%.
Pakistan laid a supplementary finance bill before parliament on Wednesday, proposing to raise the goods and services tax (GST) to 18% from 17% to help raise 170 billion rupees ($639.70 million) in extra revenue during the fiscal year ending in July.Latest Updates
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The finance bill also proposed to raise taxes on luxury items to 25%, while hikes in taxes on first- and business-class air travel, cigarettes and sugary drinks were also proposed.
High speed diesel will now cost 280 rupees a litre after an increase of 17.20 rupees, the finance ministry said. Kerosene and light diesel oil prices were increased as well.
($1 = 265.7500 Pakistani rupees)
Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christian Schmollinger
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