ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to once again increase the price of petrol and diesel prices during the next fortnightly review on September 15.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved increasing the margin of petroleum dealers and oil marketing companies (OMCs) after the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) threatened to go on strike and close down petrol pumps.
The decision was taken in the session of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) chaired by Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar
The caretaker government approved the phased increase in the profit margin of petrol and diesel by Rs3.5 per litre for petroleum dealers and OMCs.
It has been decided to increase the petrol and diesel margin by Rs1.87 per litre for OMCs. In the first phase, the sale margin will be increased by Rs0.47 per litre for OMCs on September 15. The meeting also approved Rs1.64 increase in margins for petrol and diesel dealers.
The increase in profit margin will be implemented in phases. In the first phase, Rs0.41 per litre hike will be implemented for dealers on September 15.
During the previous review August 31, the caretaker government had increased the price of petrol by Rs14.9 per litre. The rate of petrol reached Rs305.36 per litre after the hike. The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) increased by Rs18.44 per litre to Rs311.84.
On August 16, Petrol price were increased by Rs17.50 per litre to Rs290.45, while high-speed diesel was increased to Rs293.40. Prior to this, the then federal government had increased the price of petrol by Rs19.95 per litre on August 1.
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