After ex-refinery price drop, government to lower POL pricing 2023

It is anticipated that the more affordable oil from Russia would arrive in Pakistan during the first week of the next month. As a result of this, it is anticipated that the coalition government will further reduce the cost of petroleum goods beginning on June 1, bringing further relief to the impoverished people.

As the rates are changed every two weeks – on the 15th and the final day of each month – it is anticipated that the government will make the announcement on May 31. The anticipated decrease will occur in response to a fall in the pricing of petroleum products obtained before to refinery.

As a result of falling ex-refinery prices for various petroleum products, industry experts predict that the price of a liter of regular gasoline will drop by Rs. 10 and the price of a liter of high-speed diesel would drop by Rs. 5 in the near future.

These figures correspond to a range of Rs. 10 to Rs. 12 for petrol and Rs. 5 to Rs. 6 for high-speed diesel. On the other hand, the new pricing will be determined by calculating the difference in exchange rates.

Price cuts at the refinery suggest the government may cut POL prices even further.

The anticipated decision would come as a significant comfort to the vast majority of people who are being adversely affected by inflation and are witnessing an unprecedented increase in the cost of necessary goods, in particular food products. And this food inflation is worse for those living in rural areas in comparison with those living in metropolitan areas.

In the beginning of this month, the government implemented a price cut that resulted in a reduction of thirty rupees for high-speed diesel and twelve rupees for gasoline, resulting in the current rates of two hundred and fifty rupees and two hundred and seventy rupees, respectively. In the case of kerosene, the decrease was Rs12, while in the case of light diesel oil, the reduction was Rs12.

In the meanwhile, on May 27, the first oil tanker carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude oil from Russia arrived in Oman. From there, the oil will be delivered to Pakistan in smaller ships as it makes its way from Oman to Pakistan. This decision was made because Pakistani ports do not have the ability to handle vessels carrying more than 50,000 tonnes of goods, which is the rationale for this action.

In spite of the fact that various estimations exist, it is abundantly obvious that the importation of Russian oil would result in a sizeable decrease in the price of POL, with some circles estimating that the price of gasoline might be reduced by as much as Rs100.