PM Shehbaz approves Rs32.12 per litre cut in diesel price

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday approved a reduction in the price of high-speed diesel by Rs32.12 per litre to bring the rate down to Rs353.43 per litre.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the approval was part of a decision aimed at providing relief to the public.

The government has decided not to make any change in the price of petrol, keeping it unchanged at Rs366.58 per litre.

The prime minister said the impact of the reduction in petroleum prices would be passed on to the public “as soon as possible”.

The announcement came as Iran’s foreign minister earlier on Friday said the strategic Strait of Hormuz had been opened to all commercial shipping. The waterway had remained closed since Feb 28, after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran.

The opening applies for the remainder of a US-brokered 10-day truce between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, agreed between Israel and Lebanon.

Following the development, oil prices plunged more than 11 per cent, extending earlier losses.

Brent crude futures fell $11.12, or 11.2pc, to $88.27 a barrel at 1311 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped $11.40, or 12pc, to $83.29 a barrel.

This is the second major cut in as many weeks by the government, as last week the prime minister announced a reduction of Rs135 per litre in diesel and Rs12 per litre in petrol, following a steep increase after a rise in international market rates amid the US-Iran war in the Middle East.

Last month, the government increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs55 per litre, citing a rise in international market rates amid the same conflict. Officials said that for the following three weeks, the government refrained from further price increases, with the prime minister absorbing the impact through a subsidy of Rs129 billion.

However, on April 2, the government raised the petrol price by Rs137 per litre, taking it to a record Rs458.4, while also increasing the price of high-speed diesel to Rs520.35 per litre — an increase of Rs185 per litre or 55 per cent. Shortly after the announcement, within 24 hours, PM Shehbaz reduced the petroleum levy on petrol by Rs80 per litre, bringing the petrol price down to Rs378 per litre.