KARACHI, Oct 15: The Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) has increased the ex-depot sale price of petrol by 98 paisa per litre followed by price hike in HOBC, kerosene and light diesel oil by 98 paisa, 66 paisa and 90 paisa per litre respectively.
Besides, the oil marketing companies (OMCs), which are authorised to announce high speed diesel (HSD) prices after deregulation from Sept 1, have also pushed up the prices of diesel by Rs1.22 per litre. The new prices will be effective from Oct 16 to 31.
The Pakistan State Oil, having a market share of 61 per cent, has increased the ex-depot price of diesel to Rs20.98 per litre from Rs19.76, and Shell Pakistan, which enjoys 30 per cent market share, has surged the price of diesel by Rs1.22 to Rs 20.97 per litre from Rs19.75. Caltex Oil, which enjoys 9 to 10 per cent market share, has also enhanced the price of diesel by Rs1.22 to Rs20.98 per litre from Rs 19.76.
Shell official said that the company has kept the diesel price 48 paisa lower as compared to local refinery price of Rs21.45 per litre.
The new ex-depot sale price of petrol has been fixed at Rs35.64 per litre as compared to Rs34.66, and the new price of High Octane Blending Component (HOBC) has been increased to Rs40.11 per litre from Rs39.13. The kerosene price has been raised to Rs19.27 per litre from Rs18.61 and light diesel oil (LDO) price has been fixed at Rs17.83 per litre as compared to Rs16.93.
The OCAC did not announce the prices of jet fuel without giving any reason.
In a statement, the committee said that the prices of oil products in the international market have been continuously showing an upward trend during the last few weeks primarily because of the volatile situation in the Middle East.
During the current fortnight, the tension in the region has particularly impacted the price of diesel, which has increased by 5.67 per cent.
The fortnightly average rate, however, improved by 15 paisa due to the strengthening of the rupee against the dollar.
Market analysts said that petrol prices were supposed to drop by one to two per cent as a result of global price fall of naphtha, a basic raw material used to upgrade petrol.
But consumers have been deprived of the benefit of falling global naphtha price as the government has decided to increase the petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol to cover up some of its previous losses.
When the global prices of petrol had been on the rise, the government had decreased the PDL on petrol by 37 paisa per litre in the last one month to offset the impact of rising global petrol prices.
Market sources said that the government has slightly adjusted the PDL on the higher side on Tuesday in other products but the exact increase could not be known immediately.
With the decline of PDL by two times in the last one month — the government was actually set to loose Rs676 million per month on petrol, diesel and kerosene.
After adjusting the petroleum development levy upward, the government has tried to minimize its per month revenue losses.
No announcement of fuel oil prices had been made on Tuesday by three leading oil marketing companies.