Both fuels are up sharply again.
The Petroleum Division has notified an increase of Rs3.81 in petrol, taking it to Rs341.59 a litre, and Rs3.59 in high-speed diesel, taking it to Rs368.29 (Daily Pakistan; Dawn).
Petrol was Rs337.78 and high-speed diesel Rs364.70 before the revision. Both new rates reconcile against the stated increases.
A three-day window, not a day
The notification was issued by the Petroleum Division on August 21 and takes effect from August 22. Unusually, the revised rates remain in effect until Monday, August 24.
That is a departure from the daily mechanism the petroleum minister announced, under which OGRA revises ex-depot prices against international movements each day. For this weekend, the price is fixed for three days rather than one.
The week in diesel
Diesel has now travelled a long way in five days.
It stood at Rs395.69 on Wednesday. It was cut by Rs32.63 to Rs363.06 on Thursday, through an arrangement in which four Karachi refineries agreed to absorb part of their margin rather than any reduction in the petroleum levy. It rose Rs1.64 on Friday, and Rs3.59 today.
The cut is still worth about Rs27 a litre of the original Rs32.63. Roughly a sixth of it has been returned inside two revisions.
Petrol received no reduction at any point and has risen at every review this week — Rs2.97, then Rs0.27, then Rs3.81.
The tax that has not moved
The government continues to collect around Rs114 a litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 on diesel.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s sit-ins against the petroleum levy are now in their seventh day, and the party has threatened a nationwide wheel-jam and shutter-down strike in the week after August 26 if the levy is not abolished. Its emir has dismissed the diesel cut as inadequate and called for a reduction of Rs130 a litre.
Today’s increase will not make that demand quieter.
