Petrol, diesel prices raised

ISLAMABAD: The government increased on Wednesday the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs2.73 and Rs3 per litre with immediate effect. Ministers for finance and petroleum Ishaq Dar and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at a late-night meeting authorised the oil companies to notify fresh prices. Except for high-speed diesel, the full impact of international prices and rupee devaluation has been passed on to consumers. In case of diesel, the government decided to absorb an impact of Rs1.50 per litre by reducing petroleum levy and allowed its prices to go up by Rs3 per litre. Ogra had worked out an increase of Rs4.50 per litre in diesel price. The ex-depot price of diesel has been raised to Rs109.76 per litre from Rs106.76. Retail prices are generally higher by 10-40 paisa per litre than ex-depot prices depending on distance from major oil depots. The ex-depot price of petrol has now been jacked up by Rs2.73 to Rs104.50 per litre from Rs101.77. The ex-depot rate of kerosene has been raised by Rs4.99 to Rs101.28 per litre from Rs96.29. The price of high octane blending component (HOBC) has been increased to Rs129 per litre from Rs123.46. The light diesel oil price has been fixed at Rs96.12 per litre, up by Rs3.95 from Rs92.17.