LAHORE: For the third time in a week, marketing companies have increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Rs45 per kg on the pretext of increase in demand due to winter.

“The prices of LPG have been increased by Rs10 to Rs20 per kg despite the fact that neither the public sector producers increased per kg price nor the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) issued any notification in this regard,” LPG Distributors Associ­ation Chairman Irfan Khokhar said on Thursday.

In Karachi, the price of domestic cylinder would be Rs1,510 and Rs130 per kg. In Lahore, Gujran-wala, Gujrat, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Hyderabad and Sukkur, the price of domestic cylinder would be Rs1,750 and one kg at Rs150.

LPG domestic cylinder in Mirpur, Multan, Baha-walpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kohat, Peshawar and Bannu would be sold for Rs1,810 and one kg at Rs155. In Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Murree, Nat-hiagali, Muzaffar­abad, Bagh (Azad Kashmir) and Fata the price of domestic cylinder would go up to Rs2,110 and one kg at Rs180.

“For the last three months or so, marketing companies have been earning unjustified profit as LPG prices have been low in international market. At present, the per tonne price of local producer is Rs60,000 while in the international market it is $563 a tonne, hence LPG should be available for Rs95 a kg in the local market,” said Khokhar.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014