March, 16 2005	Wednesday	05 Safar 1426

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KARACHI, March 15: The Oil Companies Advisory Committee (Ocac) has increased the petrol price by Rs1.57 to Rs45.53 from Rs43.96 a litre, while Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have raised the high speed diesel (HSD) price by 85 paisa to Rs29.06 from Rs28.21 per litre.

The price of high octane blending component (HOBC) has been increased to Rs50.52 from Rs48.94, up by Rs1.58 a litre, while light diesel oil (LDO) price has surged to Rs26.39 from Rs25.37 a litre, rising by Rs1.02 a litre.

The price of kerosene has been kept unchanged.

The new rates will be effective from Wednesday.

In a statement, Ocac said the prices of petroleum products and crude oil in the Gulf market had reached an all-time high during the current fortnight. The increase in finished products over the previous fortnight varied from 4.5 to 14.5 per cent. Kerosene price touched a record $63.7 per barrel. Average price of naphtha for the fortnight was $432 per ton, an increase of $28 per ton.

The committee said the prices in the domestic markets had been increased by 3-4 per cent for the current fortnight.

The government said that while the actual increase in the diesel rates because of the international prices was Rs3.80 a litre, an increase of only 85 paisa per litre had been passed on to the public.

The Pakistan State Oil said that the international price of diesel had risen by 14 per cent over the previous fortnight but the company was passing on the impact to local prices by 3 per cent.