Government keeps petrol and diesel prices unchanged for July 26 and 27

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has left the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel unchanged for July 26 and 27, saying the decision was taken because Platts prices are not published on weekends.

According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the rates announced on July 25 will remain in effect for the following two days as well. Petrol will continue to sell at Rs335.18 per litre, while high-speed diesel will remain at Rs383.46 per litre.

The government had increased the price of petrol by Rs3.66 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs4.80 per litre a day earlier. The government is currently charging a total of Rs110 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs96 per litre on diesel.

Daily pricing policy

Earlier, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik had announced that fuel prices would be set on a daily basis in view of fluctuations in international oil markets after renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States. He said the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to assign the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority the task of determining fuel prices every day in line with global market movements.

Before that shift, the government had been issuing weekly fuel price revisions since early March, while also introducing fuel conservation measures because of possible supply disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East. In April, the federal government also announced targeted relief steps to provide subsidised fuel.

The move to daily pricing has been opposed by the All Pakistan Dealers Association, which said it would consider a protest plan this week.

Price trend and broader impact

Diesel prices have fallen from their peak of Rs520.35 per litre recorded on April 3. The diesel rate had started climbing from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war began on February 28.

Petrol had reached Rs458.41 per litre on April 3 after starting its upward movement from Rs266 per litre in the first week of March. Petrol is mainly used by private vehicles, small cars, rickshaws and motorcycles, meaning changes in its price directly affect middle- and lower-middle-income consumers.

Diesel price changes also have a wider effect because the fuel is used in heavy transport, power plants and large generators. Petrol and high-speed diesel remain the main revenue-generating petroleum products, with monthly sales of around 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared with about 10,000 tonnes a month for kerosene.