Even though prices for petroleum products and crude oil have been pretty stable, petrol and diesel prices may go up by Rs 10–17 per litre on August 1, 2022. A report in The News says that the increase has been estimated because the exchange rate has gone crazy.
Without the petroleum levy, sources say that petrol prices will go up by Rs 10 and diesel prices will go up by Rs 16-17 (PL). And if the government raises the petroleum levy by Rs5 per litre, the price of Mogas is expected to be Rs15 per litre and the price of diesel will be Rs23 per litre.
The expected rise in POL prices has also been calculated without taking into account an increase in dealers’ margins (DMs) on POL prices by Rs2.10 per litre on petrol and Rs2.87 per litre on diesel to Rs7 per litre, which was approved by the ECC here on Thursday. If Rs2.10 is added to the price of petrol, it could go up to Rs17.10 per litre, and if Rs2.87 is added to the price of diesel, it could go up to Rs25.87 per litre.
If this decision is approved by the federal cabinet in the next two days, the dealers’ margin will go up on August 1, 2022. Industrial sources say that so far this month, the value of the US dollar has gone up by Rs40 and that the exchange rate is Rs239.9427 against the US dollar and Rs246.15 on the open market. They did say, though, that the price of gasoline and diesel will depend on the exchange rate in place today (Friday). Independent experts say that since the price of crude oil has settled at $99.4 per barrel as of Thursday, the people of Pakistan will not be able to reap the benefits. Instead, they will have to pay more for POL because the exchange rate is going up. But the government seems more likely to raise PL by Rs5 per litre on both gasoline and diesel because they need to send a message to the IMF.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
