ISLAMABAD: To fulfill the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the federal government raised the prices of petroleum products by Rs30 per litre. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced the decision last night in a press conference.
According to the new prices, the per litre rate of different products will be:
Petrol: Rs179.86 per litre
High-Speed Diesel: Rs174.15
Kerosene Oil: Rs155.56
Light Diesel: Rs148.31
Miftah commented that due to the tough economic situation, such decisions were taken. He added that a subsidy of Rs56 per litre had been given and the government bore a loss of Rs55 billion in the last 15 days. He said that Pakistan would not be able to receive the IMF bailout programme if prices were not increased.
Currently, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves stand at $10.2 billion. The revival of the IMF bailout programme can bring stability to local currency, support foreign exchange reserves and subsequently help the financial market.