The price of oil in the international market is facing a downward trend for almost a week as the market focused on the worries about the further China Covid-19 restrictions.
Brent oil futures closed under $100 a barrel for the first time in three months as recession worries cloud the near-term outlook for crude demand. The contract for the international oil benchmark for September delivery tumbled 7.1 percent to $99.49 a barrel.
Currently, fuel prices in Pakistan are very high, the incumbent government had been jacking up the prices citing an international market hike, but when the prices are coming down, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said they will provide relief to the masses if the downward trend continues?
What kind of logic is this? when the prices go up, the government jacks up the prices with ain twinkling of an eye, but when it goes down, we hear such statements!.
Punjab by-election is coming near, scheduled to take place on July 17, the first move of the Punjab govt went into the vein as the ECP suspended Punjab CM Hamza’s relief program now it has been sensed that the federal government is mulling over slashing oil prices in the country in a move to hit two prey with one arrow… The slashing of oil prices will put the popularity graph of the government bit high among the masses and it can also bring good results for the PML-N in the upcoming Punjab by-polls.
Sources said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought a summary to reduce the price of petroleum products by up to Rs40.
He asked the ministries of finance and petroleum to present a summary to him for approval, adding that the people deserved relief after passing through difficult times.
Interesting thing is that the move cannot be challenged as the government will say that prices have been slashed as per the international market as they had been jacked up in the past.
All the speculations in this regard will come to an end today (Thursday), at midnight as according to the law, the prices will be retained or changed for the next 15 days.
