Islamabad: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has cautioned against making guesses about the future prices of petroleum products. This caution comes after federal ministers counseled that the charges of oil and other fuels may cross down in the next -week assessment.
Caretaker Federal Commerce and Industries Minister Gohar Ejaz and Interim Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi had mentioned last week that the prices of petroleum products could decrease, thanks to the strengthening of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar. Over the past two weeks, the rupee has gained about Rs16 against the dollar. This matters because Pakistan imports petroleum products in dollars.
During the previous review, the interim government had significantly increased the prices of petrol and diesel by more than Rs26 and Rs17 per liter, respectively, reaching historic highs of Rs331.38 and Rs329.18 per liter.
Responding to the ministers’ statements, Ogra issued a statement of its personal, stressing the want to avoid making predictions approximately petroleum product prices. The authority explained that the expenses in Pakistan are mainly prompted through worldwide market fees and the exchange charge among the USA dollar and the Pakistani rupee.
Ogra noted that international petroleum prices have been on the rise recently, while the exchange rate has improved. However, they emphasized that there’s still one week left before the announcement of new prices. Therefore, any speculation about price increases or decreases during this period is highly speculative and could potentially disrupt the smooth functioning of the oil supply chain.
