KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday issued bank timings during Ramazan 2023 starting from Thursday March 23, 2023,
The central bank in a statement said that during the ensuing holy month of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak 1444 AH, the following office hours will be observed in the SBP, which will also be followed by all banks, development finance institutions and microfinance banks:-
Monday to Thursday from 09:00 am to 03:30 pm with prayer break from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm whereas on Fridays office hours will be from 08.30 am to 1:00 pm without break.
However, it is further advised to observe the following business (banking) hours for public dealing:
Monday to Thursday from 09:00 am to 02:00 pm without break whereas on Fridays business (banking) hours for public dealing will be from 08:30 am to 1:00 pm without break.
After the holy month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak, the above timings will automatically be reverted to pre Ramadan-ul-Mubarak timings.
Today petrol price in Pakistan on March 22, 2023 is Rs272 per liter and it will remain applicable till March 31, 2023 if not changed earlier by the government.
Following are the effective petroleum prices for March 21, 2023:
MS (Petrol)
272.00
HSD
293.00
Kerosene
190.29
Light Diesel Oil
184.68
The country increased the petroleum prices a day earlier which are effective from March 16, 2023.
The government is planning to reduce the prices of petroleum products for the poor segment of the society for easing the intensity of high prices.
This week
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced petroleum package to provide subsidy of Rs50 per liter to provide relief to people having motorcycles, rickshaws and lower capacity engines.
The relief package for subsidy is liable on those consumers who have motorcycles, rickshaws, 800 cc or smaller cars.
Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik briefed about the strategy for providing petroleum subsidy to the low-income segment of society.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the relief package in the review meeting. He said that the program of petroleum subsidy would be started soon and a comprehensive strategy would be formed with the cooperation of relevant departments for effective implementation of the subsidy program.
Previously, a statement issued by the Finance Division, stated that in the last fortnight, Platts Singapore prices registered an increase.
This along with a depreciation of Pakistani Rupee (PKR) has resulted in an increase of petroleum products in Pakistan.
Accordingly, the price of MS (Petrol) has increased by Rs5 per liter and price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) has increased by Rs13 per liter.
The increase in price of kerosene oil has been kept at Rs2.56 by reducing government dues on it. Similarly, price of light diesel oil has been kept constant by adjusting government dues as well.
Earlier, experts had predicted that petroleum prices in Pakistan would go up from March 16, 2023 owing for significant depreciation in local currency.
The continuous decline in rupee value has increased the possibility of further hike in petroleum prices for the next fortnight.
The local currency has recorded significant decline during the past one year. Weakness in rupee value against the dollar made the local currency worst currency in the region. The rupee crashed by 57 per cent during past one year to PKR 280.77 to the dollar on March 10, 2023 when compared with PKR 178.63 on March 10, 2022 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
On the other hand the prices of crude oil in international market recorded sharp decline. The prices of benchmark Brent crude oil recorded around 30 per cent decline during one year despite Russia-Ukraine War. Brent crude oil prices were $115 per barrel during last March 2022 and it fell to $83 in the current month of March 2023.
In contrast, the domestic prices of petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) recorded massive increase of 78 per cent and 94 per cent, respectively on Year on Year (YoY) basis by week ended March 09, 2023.
The comparison of global and domestic fuel prices showed the local market should have lower prices and people of the country would have been provided relief.
ISLAMABAD: Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has issued a list of items on which the federal government allowed subsidy for general public to provide relief during the holy month of Ramazan.
Following are today’s petroleum prices in Pakistan for March 21, 2023. The rates will remain applicable till March 31, 2023, if not revised earlier by the government.
Pakistan has banned import of cars older than three years under Import Policy Order (IPO), 2022. However, vehicles old up to five years can be imported under the policy.
