LAHORE, Nov 28: Saudi Aramco on Thursday announced the Contract Price for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at $1,175 per tonne for December, a rise of $275 per tonne from November.

The increase shows rising demand for LPG as most countries head into the winter.

Incidentally the price impact in Pakistan may be as high as $335 per tonne because local LPG producers in November maintained the Saudi Aramco CP of October which was $840 per tonne.

“In the event local LPG producers match the December CP, prices could rise by as much as Rs42,725 per tonne (Rs42 per kg inclusive of taxes),” said Belal Jabbar, the spokesman for the LPG Association of Pakistan.

This would translate into an increase of Rs504 for a domestic and Rs1,940 for a commercial cylinder which would now cost Rs2,097 and Rs8,069 respectively.

Similarly retail rates in different parts of the country would be as follows: Rs168 per kg in Sindh and Balochistan, Rs178 per kg in Punjab, and Rs188 per kg in AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Mr Jabbar said, “We urge the government and LPG producers to maintain their current prices which should provide some relief to the consumers as only 30 per cent of LPG is imported whilst the remaining is produced locally.”