The government has raised the price of petrol by Rs4.45 a litre to Rs333.01 while cutting high-speed diesel by Rs2 to Rs383.86 (Geo News).
The split revision reverses part of two consecutive cuts. Petrol had fallen to Rs328.56 on Wednesday from a peak of Rs336.15 on July 31; it has now given back more than half that reduction. Diesel has continued down, from Rs385.86 on Wednesday to Rs383.86.
The government also raised the petroleum levy on diesel by Rs1.44 a litre, from Rs70.82 to Rs72.26, as part of its latest fiscal measures — so the pump price fell by Rs2 while the tax on each litre went up.
The divergence is a feature of the mechanism rather than a policy choice. Petrol and high-speed diesel are priced off separate international benchmarks under the daily regime introduced on July 17, which revises ex-depot prices every 24 hours against a seven-day rolling average, with no revision at weekends or on public holidays. The two products can and do move in opposite directions in the same notification.
Crude has stayed soft. Oil prices slipped as talks between Iran and Oman raised hopes of a US-Iran peace deal, with Tehran saying it is close to a plan for the Strait of Hormuz while reopening depends on Washington (Geo News; Geo News).
Diesel remains the more consequential rate for headline inflation, pricing freight, farm machinery and inter-city transport. The gap between the two products has narrowed to about Rs51.
