Pakistan likely to increase petrol, diesel price by Rs 32 per litre as economic crisis intensifies

As Pakistan faces its worst economic crisis, the citizens of the South Asian country are likely to face another rude shock. Local media reports suggest that petrol and diesel prices are likely to increase by Rs 32 per liter from February 16.

Oil, crude oil and lubricants prices rose further and hovered around Rs 272 for the next fortnight. This could prompt the government to raise the prices of petrol and diesel again. Official and industry sources quoted in the reports indicated that petrol prices are likely to rise by 12.8 percent or PKR 32.07. This would bring the effective price to almost PKR 282 per liter compared to PKR 250. Similarly, diesel prices could increase by 12.5 percent or PKR 32.84 to PKR 295.64 compared to PKR 262.8. Kerosene price is even expected to increase by 14.8 percent or PKR 28.05 to PKR 217.88 per litre.

Petrol and diesel prices have been on the rise in Pakistan for some time due to a sharp decline in its currency and the rising cost of oil imports. The government had earlier hiked the price of petrol and diesel by PKR 35 per liter from February 1 to February 15. Not only petrol and diesel, but also the prices of other basic commodities, including milk and meat, have skyrocketed in Pakistan.

It has been reported that the cash-strapped citizens of the country are currently buying milk at PKR 210 per litre, while a kg of chicken costs Rs 700-800. Meanwhile, the price of boneless meat has now reached PKR 1,000-1,100 per kilogram.