Govt decides against POL price cut

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday announced that the government was keeping prices of petrol and diesel unchanged effective from December 1, 2022. The diesel price was supposed to be reduced by Rs11.95 per litre but the government’s decision deprived consumers of a major relief. The diesel price was left unchanged in a bid to raise the petroleum levy rate to collect more revenue from the oil consumers. Diesel is a key product and is widely used in transport and agriculture sectors. A revision in its price has a direct bearing on the life of the common man. After the latest decision, the diesel price will continue to remain at Rs235.30 per litre. The government has already increased the petroleum levy on petrol and high octane blending component (HOBC) to the budgeted level of Rs50 per litre. On the other hand, the price of petrol should have gone up in line with the trend in international markets but the government decided not to revise it on Wednesday.