The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has cut petrol and diesel prices from Tuesday, 3 November, giving motorists relief at the pumps under the federal government’s petroleum pricing mechanism.
Petrol falls by Rs3.40 a litre, from Rs377.91 to Rs374.51, while high-speed diesel falls by Rs7.76 a litre, from Rs402.96 to Rs395.20. The revised figures are ex-depot prices, announced by the regulator in a notification issued on Monday.
The cut is the first reduction in the petrol price after the rate was left unchanged at Rs377.91 a litre in Friday’s revision. Diesel, by contrast, had risen by Rs2.29 a litre on Friday, to Rs402.96, before Monday’s larger reduction reversed that increase and more.
The regulator said the adjustments reflected global developments, including changes in Platts rates, premiums and incidental costs. International oil prices fell by around 6 percent on Monday as talks between Iranian and Qatari officials raised hopes of easing supply disruptions in the Middle East, with Brent crude down 6.78 dollars at 106.65 dollars a barrel and United States West Texas Intermediate down 6.37 dollars at 97.75 dollars.
The new rates apply for 3 November, with a further price determination due on 4 November under the government’s daily pricing mechanism, so today’s relief does not by itself guarantee that the same rates will continue. The daily system is intended to pass changes in international prices to consumers more quickly than the previous fortnightly cycle.
The cut follows the revised petrol pricing formula approved by the federal cabinet on 30 October, under which refineries surrender part of the gap between import and domestic prices into the petroleum levy account, with the benefit passed on to consumers. Motorists should still expect pump prices to vary by location, as freight and local costs sit on top of the notified ex-depot rate.
