The federal government of Pakistan on Friday increased the price of petrol by Rs14.92 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs15.
Following the revision, petrol will now be sold at Rs414.78 per litre, while the price of HSD has reached Rs414.58 per litre.
According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the revised prices came into effect from May 9.
Petrol is largely consumed by private vehicles, motorcycles, rickshaws and small transport, making it directly linked to the expenses of middle and lower-middle income households. High-speed diesel is mainly used in heavy transport vehicles and industrial generators.
The government has been reviewing petroleum prices on a weekly basis since the US-Israeli war on Iran, which started on February 28 and disrupted global fuel markets. The conflict also affected oil supplies after the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas shipments remained closed during the escalation.
Soon after the conflict began, the government raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre on March 6 and later announced austerity measures on March 9.
In the weeks that followed, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif maintained that he had turned down proposals to further increase fuel prices despite rising international market rates on three separate occasions.
On April 2, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Finance Minister (FM) Muhammad Aurangzeb announced a 43 percent increase in petrol prices and a 55 percent increase in HSD prices. The ministers had also spoken about introducing a targeted fuel subsidy programme.
A day later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reduced the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre, bringing petrol prices down to Rs378 per litre.
On April 10, the prime minister further cut diesel prices by Rs135 per litre and petrol prices by Rs12 per litre.
Last week, the government had increased petrol prices by Rs6.51 per litre and HSD prices by Rs19.39 per litre.
