Petrol, diesel prices may remain unchanged or drop slightly from June 1

• Final decision awaits finance ministry's input.
• Brent crude hovered around $64 per barrel.
• US data, OPEC+ talks influence global prices.

ISLAMABAD: The price of petrol is likely to go down by Rs0.60 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs0.28 per litre, industrial and official sources told The News on Thursday.

However, chances are bright for keeping the POL (petrol, oil, lubricant) prices unchanged from June 1. This will be decided with the input of the finance ministry.

Nevertheless, the kerosene oil price may increase by Rs0.30 per litre to Rs164.96 from the existing Rs164.64 per litre. The price of light diesel oil (LDO) is also likely to increase by Rs1.30 per litre.

In the international market, Brent crude oil prices ranged between $64.02-64.60 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate fell more than 1.5% to trade below $61 a barrel after Interfax cited Kazakhstan as saying that OPEC+ is set to hike output at a meeting on Saturday, with the size of the increase still to be decided.

Broader markets eased off of earlier highs on data showing the US economy shrank at the start of the year, further pressuring the commodity.

Crude had earlier rallied as much as 2% after a trade court blocked a vast range of President Donald Trump’s trade levies, including elevated rates on China — the world’s top importer of crude.

Originally published in The News