After the reduction in prices, one litre of HSD costs ₹380 and petrol at almost ₹381 per litre, according to Dawn.
Later, the Petroleum Division said the updated prices would remain effective in the week starting on May 30 (Saturday).
The government reduced fuel prices on the third day of Eid Al-Adha in a move it said would provide relief to consumers as a significant number of Eid travellers get ready to return home over the weekend, as per Arab News.
“The prime minister had promised the nation that relief would be provided whenever room was available, and that promise has been fulfilled exactly as made,” the government said in a statement, calling the move an Eid gift.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority also stated that the price of kerosene was reduced from ₹313.44 to ₹272.
The prime minister’s office said that petrol and diesel prices had been reduced last week as well. The federal government has also been providing fuel subsidies for commuters using motorcycles and rickshaws as well as public and goods transport, the statement added.
It also explained that the government had maintained uninterrupted fuel supplies despite regional turmoil.
Petrol is mostly used in small vehicles, auto rickshaws, private transport and two-wheelers and prices have a direct impact on the budget of the lower-middle and middle class.
HSD, on the other hand, is mainly utilised for large generators. It is also used in the heavy transport sector. A change in the rates of petrol and diesel directly impacts the cost of goods and services in the country.
The Pakistani government has been revising petroleum prices weekly on Friday night after the now-paused US-Iran war, which started on February 28. Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies used to pass, remains effectively closed since the start of the war.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump held a meeting with top aides to make a ‘final determination’ regarding a framework for extending the ceasefire with Iran, the BBC reported. The meeting concluded without any clarity around the next steps.
On Thursday, the two countries had given a nod to a framework of a deal, according to US officials, pending the approval of Trump and Iran’s leadership.
The memorandum of understanding would reportedly launch talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and extend the ceasefire for 60 days.
