Govt reduces petrol, diesel prices by Rs5

The federal government on Friday reduced petrol and diesel prices by Rs5, according to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division. According to the notification, the revised prices will take effect from May 16. Following the decrease, the price of petrol stands at Rs409.78 per litre and that of HSD at Rs409.58. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle and lower-middle class. High-speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector and for large generators. The government has been revising petroleum prices every week on Friday night following the now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28. The war also led to a global fuel crunch caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and gas used to pass in peacetime. Last week, the government approved a hike of Rs14.92 per litre in petrol and Rs15 on HSD prices. After the US-Israeli war on Iran began, the government initially hiked petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre on March 6 and announced unprecedented austerity measures on March 9. In the following weeks, PM Shehbaz said he had rejected recommendations to increase fuel prices despite an increase in the global market on three occasions. But on April 2, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel, respectively. The ministers had also announced a targeted fuel subsidy programme. However, just a day later, PM Shehbaz slashed the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre and brought the price of petrol down to Rs378 per litre. On April 10, PM Shehbaz further decreased diesel prices and petrol prices by Rs135 and Rs12 per litre, respectively.