KARACHI, Aug 31: Three leading oil marketing companies (OMCs) have increased the prices of high speed diesel (HSD) by 2 to 4.35 per cent. It was the first revision by the OMCs after deregulation from September 1.

Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which enjoys 60-61 per cent market share, has revised the HSD price by 2.1 per cent to Rs19.48 per litre from Rs 19.08 per litre instead of the 5.4 per cent increase in the ex-refinery price as notified by the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).

Consumers will see a marked increase in price when they fill their fuel tanks from the Caltex pumps where the rates will be prevailing at Rs19.91 per litre from Rs19.08 per litre, showing a rise of 83 paisa per litre or 4.35 per cent, says a company announcement on Saturday night. Caltex enjoys nine per cent market share in diesel.

Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL), having 30 per cent market share in diesel, has also announced an increase of two per cent in ex- depot price of diesel to Rs19.47 per litre from Rs19.08 per litre. SPL said the price has been fixed lower than the rise in international and ex-refinery prices. On the basis of latest ex- refinery prices, the price of diesel would have been Rs19.94 per litre.

The new prices of HSD, by the OMCs, will be effective from September 1-15 2002 at 29 designated locations/depots under the deregulated regime.

As part of the deregulation process, the federal government has authorized the OMCs to notify the maximum ex-depot sales price of diesel from Saturday. Previously furnace oil was deregulated in 2000 and lubricants in 1993.

A spokesman of PSO said although there was a substantial increase in international oil prices and ex-refinery price, the company has made only a marginal increase to the benefit of consumers.

President Karachi Transport Itehad (KTI), Irshad Bukhari has criticised the increase in diesel prices, saying the variation in prices at different companies’s petrol pumps is unacceptable.

He said this sort of deregulation is not acceptable to the transporters and there should be a uniform price at all destinations.