Govt decides not to raise petroleum prices in July

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged for the month of July, despite a recommendation by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to increase prices.

Speaking at a press conference here today, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that the government had decided to maintain prices for the month of July and bear losses due to rise in global oil prices.

The prices of petrol, hi-octane, and kerosene oil will remain unchanged, said Dar, adding that the only price to be changed would that of light diesel, which would go up by Rs5.38/litre from the start of the coming month.

The finance minister said that the government had decided to bear the burden despite recommendations by OGRA to increase prices.

Dar said that the finance ministry had estimated that it would bear a loss of up to Rs 3 billion by keeping the prices unchanged.