ISLAMABAD: In its first quarterly pricing, the elected government on Friday reduced the high speed diesel (HSD) rate by Rs1.77 per litre for the next fortnight. Petrol price was kept unchanged.

In a late-night announce­ment, the finance ministry announced the new prices for the next fortnight starting from March 16, as recommended by Ogra.

The petrol price thus rem­a­ins unchanged at Rs279.75. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and directly affects the budget of middle- and lower-middle class consumers.

On the other hand, the price of HSD was reduced by Rs1.77 per litre to Rs285.56 against Rs287.33 over the past fortnight.

The government did not announce the prices of kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO). Kerosene is mostly used by unscrupulous elements for mixing it with petrol and to some extent for lighting in remote areas while LDO is consumed by flour mills and some power plants.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2024