The government announced a reduction of Rs 22 per litre in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) each on Friday.
Last week, the government cut the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 6-7 per litre each with immediate effect for the week ending May 29 owing to lower global prices.
Following the last reduction, the price of HSD stood at Rs402.78 per litre and that of petrol at Rs403.78 per litre. Another reduction of Rs22 in the price of each commodity means that the new price of HSD has been set at around R380 per litre and of petrol at around Rs381 per litre.
The latest reduction in the prices was announced in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which said PM Shehbaz had promised to pass on “the relief to the people as soon as some space was created for it”.
“That promise has been fulfilled,” it added. “It has been decided to reduce the price of petrol by Rs22 per litre and also cut the price of diesel by Rs 22 per litre.”
Later, the Petroleum Division said the new prices were to remain effective in the week starting on May 30 (Saturday).
It quoted PM Shehbaz as saying that “providing relief to the people is my top priority”.
The statement recalled that the prices of petrol and diesel had been reduced last week as well, and that the federal government had been providing fuel subsidies for public and goods transport and to commuters using motorcycles and rickshaws.
Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle and lower-middle class. High-speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector and for large generators.
The government has been revising petroleum prices every week on Friday night following the now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28.