Petrol price expected to surge by another Rs7.60 per litre

The federal government is expected to increase the prices of petroleum products for the next fortnight, sources said on Saturday.

According to the sources, the prices of petrol and diesel are likely to surge by Rs7.60 and Rs3.50 per litre, respectively, from July 16.

The expected increase is attributed to a hike in the prices of commodities in the global market.

Sources said petrol and diesel witnessed a $4.4 per barrel and $2 per barrel increase in the international market.

However, the increase also depends on the final calculation and existing tax rates.

Earlier a week, the government had approved a financial bill for increasing petroleum levy to Rs70 per litre to generate Rs1.28 trillion revenue in the account of petroleum development levy (PDL), which was about Rs91 billion in FY2023-24, more than the target of Rs869 billion.

During the current fortnight, the import premium remained unchanged at $9.60 and $6.50 per barrel for petrol and HSD, respectively, while during these 15 days, the local currency was depreciated by Rs0.17 against the dollar.

In the last fortnight review, petrol and HSD prices were increased by Rs7.54 and Rs9.56 per litre on June 30.

The current prices of petrol and diesel are Rs265.61 per litre and Rs277.45 per litre, respectively.

However, the Ministry of Finance will announce the new prices on the night of June 15 after consulting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.