OGRA has submitted a review to the government according to media reports and suggested the prices of petroleum products for June. Interestingly, it has suggested a 5 paisa hike in the price of a Diesel and the new price will be PKR80.10 per liter. In the case of Petrol, it suggested a decrease of PKR 7.06, the new price will be PKR 74.52 per liter, it proposed a decrease of PKR 9.37 for light diesel and the new price will be PKR 38.14 per liter. Kerson will see a PKR 11.88 drop and the new price will be PKR 35.56 per liter.
There will be a significant decrease in the price of petrol with sources saying it could be Rs. 10-15 per liter, according to reports.
If it happens, it will be due to the fall in oil prices on the international market as the government is seeking to provide relief to the people because of the coronavirus. As per the details, OGRA works out the prices at the end of April and beginning of May based on PSO imports.
It is important to point out that by the end of April; the world market price of oil had dropped to record lows in the midst of the global lockout.
The June Ex-Refinery price will be slashed by Rs. 15 / ltr, according to sources. While this could help improve the economy due to low import prices, it could also lead to serious fuel shortages. As refineries find it difficult to process crude oil at a high price and then sell refined products like petrol at a lower price.
It is worth remembering that oil marketing firms would hesitate to import petrol from the global market because it is more than double the cost of importing PSO.