LAHORE: A day after the government increased the price of petroleum products by Rs4 a litre, a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court on Saturday against the federal government’s decision, urging the court to declare it void.
Effective January 1, the prices of petrol, kerosene and light diesel oil were increased by Rs4 per litre, Rs3.95 and Rs4.15 respectively for the next fortnight, a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance Friday night said.
Following the increase, the price of petrol reached Rs144.82 per litre, high-speed diesel Rs141.62, light diesel oil Rs111.06 and kerosene Rs113.53.
Nominating the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the central government as respondents, the petition requested the court to annul the latest surge in prices.
The development came as oil prices worldwide fell on Friday but posted their biggest annual gains since at least 2016, spurred by the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 slump and producer restraint even as infections reached record highs elsewhere in the world.
Brent crude futures settled down $1.75, or 2.2 percent, at $77.78 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped $1.78, or 2.31 percent, to $75.21 a barrel.
Brent ended the year up 50.5 percent, its biggest gain since 2016, while WTI posted a 55.5 percent gain, the strongest performance for the benchmark contract since 2009 when prices soared more than 70 percent.
Global oil prices are expected to rise further next year as jet fuel demand catches up.
“We’ve had Delta and Omicron and all manner of lockdowns and travel restrictions, but demand for oil has remained relatively firm,” said Australian brokerage firm CommSec’s Chief Economist Craig James.
“You can attribute that to the effects of stimulus supporting demand and restrictions on supply.”
However, after rising for several straight days, oil prices stalled on Friday as Covid-19 cases soared to new pandemic highs across the globe, from Australia to the United States, stoked by the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant.
— With input from Reuters
