OGRA’s July 21 daily petroleum price notification produced a split revision — a move not possible under the old fortnightly system, which set a single directional change for all products simultaneously (Dawn; Pakistan Observer; Bol News).
July 21 prices: – Petrol (motor spirit): Rs315.80/litre — down Rs0.35 – High-speed diesel: Rs360.06/litre — up Rs5.71
The divergence reflects different dynamics in the international Platts benchmark prices for the two products over the preceding seven-day average period. Petrol prices have been softening modestly as mediation reports ease some of the Hormuz risk premium on crude. Diesel’s continued rise reflects a tighter market in distillate products — middle distillates, including diesel and jet fuel, have been more persistently affected by the Strait of Hormuz closure because they are a larger component of exports from Gulf refineries that have been disrupted.
The split revision is a feature, not a bug, of the daily OGRA mechanism. Under the fortnightly system, both petrol and diesel moved together by decree; the new mechanism allows each product to track its own international benchmark independently. This is normal practice in deregulated fuel markets globally.
Running price series since July 18:
| Date | Petrol (Rs/litre) | Diesel (Rs/litre) | |——|——————-|——————-| | July 18 | 316.15 | 354.35 | | July 20 | ~310.71 | — | | July 21 | 315.80 | 360.06 |
The petrol figure for July 20 came from a separate OGRA notification that day; the diesel figure for July 20 was not separately reported in sources available to this publication.
For consumers: a Rs0.35 petrol cut is effectively symbolic at the pump but confirms the mechanism’s downward capability for motor spirit. The Rs5.71 diesel increase is more significant — HSD at Rs360.06 is the highest it has been since before the fortnightly system was in place, representing the cumulative impact of the Strait closure on distillate markets.
