The government on Tuesday reduced the price of petrol by Rs. 1.70/liter while increasing the price of high-speed diesel by Rs. 1.39/liter, applicable for Aug. 12 under the daily price fixation mechanism.
After the latest revision, the consumer price of petrol has been fixed at Rs. 325.92/liter, while diesel would cost Rs. 382.25/liter. These prices include Rs. 114/liter in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs. 100/liter on diesel.
According to Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, fuel prices are fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices amidst renewed hostilities between Iran and the U.S. in a bid to boost transparency and pass on the full impact to consumers immediately.
The daily price fixation mechanism was implemented last month, replacing a weekly mechanism implemented in early March. Prior to the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, the government used to set prices fortnightly.
Both the All Pakistan Dealers Association and the Transport Goods Association have rejected the daily pricing mechanism, with the latter currently on strike and the former threatening the same from the end of this week.
Primarily used in private transport, changes to the price of petrol tend to impact the middle and lower-middle classes, who use it for their daily commute. Changes in diesel prices, meanwhile, are considered inflationary, as increased hike the cost of heavy transport and can drive up the prices of essential commodities.