A substantial reduction in petroleum prices is anticipated starting September 16.
Recent media reports reveal that international market prices for petrol and high-speed diesel have decreased by about $5 per barrel over the last two weeks.
As a result, with final exchange rate adjustments and current tax rates, a decrease of 10 to 11 rupees per liter in fuel prices is expected.
Specifically, the average international price of petrol has dropped from $81 per barrel to below $76, while high-speed diesel has fallen from $88.5 per barrel to around $83.
Import premiums for both fuels have remained stable, with petrol at $8.5 per barrel and high-speed diesel at $5 per barrel.
The exchange rate has also remained steady during this period.
Sources indicate that the government might increase the petroleum levy by 5 rupees per liter to address a 100 billion rupee revenue shortfall reported by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the initial two months of the fiscal year.
Should this adjustment be implemented, the price reduction might be around 5 to 6 rupees per liter.
Additionally, the government has raised the maximum petroleum levy limit to 70 rupees per liter in the financial bill. This move aims to generate 1.208 trillion rupees in the upcoming fiscal year, a 150 billion rupee increase from the previous year’s collection of 1.019 trillion rupees.
The budget target for the year was set at 869 billion rupees.