ISLAMABAD - AHMAD AHMADANI - Prices of all petroleum products except petrol are likely to be dearer by Rs2.20/litre under the weekly price review mechanism, to be effective by 15th October across the country, it has been reliably learnt on Thursday.
Sources aware of the matter informed TheNation that per liter prices of all petroleum products except petrol are to go up by Rs2.20/litre in accordance to the estimation made so far by the concerned quarters regarding the future prices of petroleum products.
However, petrol and CNG prices are expected to go down. Petrol price is likely to be cheaper by Rs2.50/liter and owing to 60 per cent set price parity between the price of petrol and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the per kilogram price of the commodity is likely to witness Rs2.20 decrease during upcoming week. Final determination of prices of the product by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) is scheduled on 13th October, which would be effective by 15th October in the country, sources further confided on Thursday.
It is also learnt that per litre price of high-speed diesel (HSD) oil is likely to be jacked up by Rs2.20/liter, while price of Kerosene oil would also see a hike by Rs0.70/liter, and Rs0.20/liter increase in light diesel oil (LDO) price would made the product expansive during next week, which in result would add miseries to the masses in large already facing double digit inflation for a long time coupled with skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.
According to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), on 7th October the price of petrol had been increased from Rs102.45 per litre to Rs105.49/litre, while the price of high speed diesel (HSD) - mainly used in transport vehicles and agriculture - had been decreased from Rs113.16 per litre to Rs110.46 per litre.
With a hike of Rs0.72, kerosene price has been reached at Rs101.95 per litre, and the price of light speed diesel has been hiked to Rs96.70 per litre with Rs0.48 raise effective by 8th October in the country.
Similarly, owing to the change in oil prices, compressed natural gas (CNG), which maintains 60 per cent parity with petrol prices, is available at Rs96.57/kg in the Region I, comprising Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after a raise of Rs2.78/kilogram. In Region II, including Sindh, Punjab, CNG would be available at Rs88.22 with a hike of Rs2.54/kg during the ongoing week.
It is pertinent to mention that at no point in the past four-and-a-half years, the ruling PPP and its allies managed to provide a considerable respite to the masses as regards the fuel prices particularly the gas which is being produced locally.
While paying no heed to the misery of the common man and fragile economy, the government has so far also set aside the recommendations of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Resources, which had been working as a watchdog on the affairs of petroleum and natural resources and Ogra, entrusted with credible task of monitoring the affairs of petroleum and natural resources, to switch to the old oil pricing mechanism.