Petrol price drops by Rs15.39 per litre, diesel by Rs7.88 per litre.

The federal government has announced a cut in petrol price for the next fortnight by Rs15.39 per litre, 24NewsHD TV channel reported Wednesday.

Likewise, the price of high-speed diesel per litre has been decreased by Rs7.88. 

The petrol price has been reduced from Rs288.49 to Rs273.10 per litre while the price of high-speed diesel has also been slashed from Rs281.96 to Rs274.08.

The Finance Division notified the new prices of the petroleum products for the next fortnight starting from May 16 (Thursday), as per the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (Ogra) recommendations.

High petroleum and electricity prices have been the key reason for unprecedented inflation.  Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle- and lower-middle class.

HSD price is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains and agricultural engines like trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.

The government charges about Rs82 per litre tax on petrol and HSD. Although the general sales tax (GST) is zero on all petroleum products, the government charges Rs60 per litre PDL on both products. It charges Rs50 per litre and high octane blending component and 95RON petrol. The government is also charging about Rs19-20 per litre customs duty on petrol and HSD.

Petrol and HSD are the major revenue spinners, with their monthly sales of about 700,000–800,000 tonnes compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.