ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — The government has cut the price of petrol by a further Rs3 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs7, a day after the previous reduction, with the new rates taking effect from November 12.
Petrol will now cost Rs335 per litre, down from Rs338, and high-speed diesel Rs364, down from Rs371, according to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on Wednesday.
OGRA said the revised prices had been worked out under the petroleum pricing mechanism approved by the federal government. It did not give a separate reason for a second change within two days.
Two cuts in two days
The new rates replace those that came into force on November 11, when petrol was cut by Rs8 and diesel by Rs7. Taken together, the two reductions bring petrol down by Rs11 a litre, from Rs346 to Rs335, and diesel down by Rs14, from Rs378 to Rs364.
Diesel matters most for freight, buses, and farm machinery, so its price feeds quickly into transport fares and the cost of goods. After the first cut, transporters in Lahore and Sargodha lowered fares by up to Rs100 on some routes.
The reductions come as Jamaat-e-Islami presses its campaign against the petroleum levy, the per-litre charge the government collects on fuel, and has called a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on November 29.
