ISLAMABAD: The federal government Wednesday night hiked the price of petrol by Rs13.55 per litre for the next fortnight.
The new price of petrol is now Rs272.89 per litre from the previous price of Rs259.34, according to a notification issued by the Finance Division.
The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs2.75 to Rs278.96 per litre. However, the price of light-diesel oil (LDO) and kerosene oil remain unchanged.
The increase in the petrol price is higher than what was being expected. The prices of petrol and HSD were estimated to go up by Rs5-9 per litre for the next 15 days owing to higher international prices and import premiums, nullifying an impact of minor exchange rate gains.
Prices of both major petroleum products had increased in the global market over the past fortnight and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) also had to pay higher import premiums even though the rupee had gained against the US dollar.
As a result, the price of HSD was expected to be increased by Rs4-6 per litre and that of petrol by Rs6.5 to 9 per litre, depending on the final exchange rate calculation.
