Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has issued retail prices of petroleum products for first fortnight of April 2023 i.e. from April 01 to April 15.
| PREMIER EURO 5 (Petrol) | Rs.272/Ltr |
| HI-CETANE DIESEL EURO 5 (HSD) | Rs.293/Ltr |
| LDO (Light Diesel Oil) | Rs.174.68/Ltr |
| SKO (Kerosene Oil) | Rs.180.29/Ltr |
| JP-1 | Rs.230.83/Ltr |
On April 1, 2023, the government of Pakistan announced that the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) would remain unchanged for the next fortnight.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s March petroleum sales slump 35-month low
The Minister of Finance, Ishaq Dar, stated that the prices of petrol and diesel would remain at Rs272 per liter and Rs293 per liter, respectively, while the prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil would be reduced by Rs10 each to Rs180.29 and Rs174.68, respectively.
Despite a significant decrease in international oil prices, experts had anticipated that the government would not cut petroleum prices by a substantial amount.
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The benchmark Brent Crude had declined five times in the international market during the past month, dropping from $82 per barrel on February 27, 2023, to $78 per barrel as of March 28, 2023.
The exchange rate was another factor that had led to a significant increase in petroleum prices over the past year. During the past month, the rupee-dollar parity remained stable, closing at PKR 283.55 to the dollar on March 28, 2023, after hitting an all-time low of PKR 285.09 on March 02, 2023.
READ MORE: Pakistan keeps prices of petrol, diesel unchanged for next fortnight
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country had witnessed a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 103% in the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) and an 81% increase in the price of petrol by the week ending on March 30, 2023.
However, Pakistan’s petroleum sales in March 2023 fell to a 35-month low due to a slowdown in overall economic activity. According to Topline Securities, Pakistan’s oil sales in March 2023 declined by 9% month-on-month (MoM) to 1.11 million tons, mainly due to lower demand for furnace oil (FO) for power generation and the slowdown in overall economic activity due to the Ramazan effect.
READ MORE: Pakistan massively increases petroleum prices by up to 103%
FO/High-Speed Diesel (HSD) declined by 28%/17% MoM, respectively, while Motor Spirit (MS) slightly increased by 1% MoM. Oil sales recorded a 39% YoY decline in March 2023 due to a fall in all major petroleum products, with MS down 28% YoY, HSD down 43% YoY, and FO down 70% YoY.
