Motorists will pay less at the pump from today, after the federal government cut petrol by Rs5.45 a litre and high-speed diesel by Rs3.68 a litre.
Under the revised rates, petrol will sell at Rs369.06 per litre and high-speed diesel at Rs391.52 per litre. The new prices replace the rates that applied on 3 November, when petrol stood at Rs374.51 and diesel at Rs395.20.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority issued the notification on Tuesday, setting the revised rates for 4 November. The regulator has also started publishing petroleum prices on its website each day, so movements in international prices can be passed on to consumers more quickly.
The shift to a daily review follows a period of sharp volatility in world oil markets, linked to renewed hostilities in the Middle East. The government had earlier moved from fortnightly revisions to a weekly system after the conflict began, and has now gone further with daily updates.
The federal cabinet approved changes to the petrol pricing mechanism on 30 October. Under the revised formula, the import price of petrol is worked out from the actual cost of the relevant Pakistan State Oil cargo. Where that cost is not available for a daily calculation, the premium, incidentals and customs duty of the last available cargo are used instead.
A short-term smoothing adjustment has also been built into the new system, feeding the benefit from a premium differential into petrol prices at a rate of $2.950 per barrel per day. The aim, officials say, is to keep day-to-day movements steadier while still reflecting the international market.
For consumers, the latest cut is the second in as many days, following the reduction that took effect on 3 November. With prices now reviewed daily, however, today’s rates are not fixed for a fortnight, and the next revision could move either way depending on global prices.
