On Thursday, petrol prices are expected to increase by Rs 3 per liter and diesel prices by Rs 2.87 per liter from December 1 to the next fortnight due to a slight increase in international prices during the last 12 days.
However, officials are expecting POL prices to drop in global markets from Thursday or Friday due to the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Hence there is no change in POL prices.
Brent crude rose 2 cents to settle at $72.83 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 5 cents to $68.72 a barrel.
As per the working of 12 days of the current fortnight, the price of petrol has been hiked by Rs 3 per liter and it may be fixed at the new price of Rs 251.38 per liter from the current price of Rs 248.38. per litre
Similarly, the price of diesel has also been estimated to increase by Rs 2.87 per liter from Rs 255.14 to Rs 258.01 per litre.
Despite this, the price of kerosene is likely to decrease by Rs 0.11 per liter to Rs 165.49 per liter from the current Rs 165.60 per litre.
The price of LDO (Light Diesel Oil) is likely to decrease by Rs 0.04 per liter to Rs 152.17 per liter from Rs 152.21 per litre.
In the last fortnightly review, the federal government had maintained the prices of petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) based on price trends in the international market.
Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers. High fuel prices significantly affect the budgets of members of the middle and lower middle class, who mainly use petrol for travel. On the other hand, a large part of the transport sector relies on high-speed diesel.
Its price is considered inflationary as it is primarily used in heavy goods vehicles, trucks, buses, trains, and agricultural machinery such as tractors, tubewells, and threshers.
High consumption of diesel leads to increase in prices especially of vegetables and other food items.