Govt cuts diesel price by Rs32 per litre following drop in int'l oil rates

• New diesel price set at Rs353.43 per litre.
• Petrol to remain “unchanged” for one week.
• Int’l oil prices drop 13% after Iran opens Hormuz.
  

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a reduction of Rs32.12 per litre in the price of high-speed diesel (HSD).

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the new diesel price has been set at Rs353.43 per litre, down from Rs385.54 — a reduction of Rs32.12.

PM Shehbaz said that impact of the reduction in international oil prices will be passed on to the public as soon as possible.

Petroleum division sources said that the government has decided to keep the price of petrol unchanged for the next seven days, starting from April 18.

In the previous weekly review, the prime minister had announced a cut of Rs12 in petrol price and Rs135 in diesel rate, citing reduction in global oil prices.

The development came as oil prices plunged by about 13% earlier today after Iran's foreign minister said passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remaining ceasefire period and US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to never close the strait again.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell $12.87, or 12.95%, to $86.52 a barrel by 10:50 a.m. EDT (1450 GMT), after falling to a session low of $86.09. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were down $13.50, or 14.26%, at $81.19 a barrel, after touching $80.56.

Both contracts were trading at their lowest since March 10, and set for their largest daily declines since April 8.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz was open following the agreement of a ceasefire in Lebanon.

"Comments from Iran's foreign minister indicate a de-escalation as long as the ceasefire is in place, now we need to see if the number of tankers crossing the Strait increases substantially," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.