File photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday announced a slight decrease to the price of petrol for the next two weeks, while maintaining the price of diesel, as the government continues to work toward reviving a stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) program seen as key to shoring up depleting foreign exchange reserves.
Addressing a press conference, Dar said the petrol price had been reduced by Rs. 5, going from Rs. 272 to 267/liter, for the next fortnight. The price of diesel, key for the country’s supply chain, how however been maintained at Rs. 280/liter.
For kerosene, the finance minister prices were being reduced by Rs. 15, going from Rs. 202.73/liter to Rs. 187.73/liter, while the tariff for light diesel oil has been brought down from Rs. 196.68 to Rs. 184.68/liter, a change of Rs. 12.
The new prices came into effect from midnight on March 1 and will remain in place till March 15.
No change to the price of diesel reflects the government’s fulfillment of a prior action of the IMF, which had demanded the collection of the maximum permissible Rs. 50/liter petroleum development levy for revenue generation. This is despite there being a significant reduction in prices of petrol and diesel in the global market, which was offset in the country due to the rupee’s devaluation against the U.S. dollar over the past month.
However, some improvements to the exchange rate in recent weeks might be reflected in the next review, unless there is another downturn for the national currency amidst ongoing delays to reviving the IMF program.