Petrol has gone up again — the eighth straight day of higher prices at the pump. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) raised petrol by Rs6.88 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs5.62 per litre, effective September 17, taking petrol to Rs391.22/litre and diesel to Rs421.45/litre, according to Dawn and Business Recorder, both of which carried matching figures from the OGRA notification.
This is not a one-off adjustment. Pakistan moved to daily fuel-price revisions in July after global oil markets turned volatile, and prices have now risen on eight consecutive days. Over just the last week, petrol is up more than Rs20/litre and diesel over Rs23/litre, according to Aaj News, which also reported that petrol has climbed roughly 12.5% and diesel about 14% since the start of September alone — a cumulative increase of Rs48.43/litre for petrol and Rs56.46/litre for diesel this month.
| Fuel | Previous Price | New Price (Sep 17) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | Rs384.34/litre | Rs391.22/litre | +Rs6.88 |
| High-Speed Diesel (HSD) | Rs415.83/litre | Rs421.45/litre | +Rs5.62 |
OGRA’s notification attributed the hike to “higher petrol and diesel prices in the international market amid continued global uncertainty,” adding that rates were revised in view of changes in Platts benchmarks, freight premiums and other cost factors. Part of that global uncertainty traces back to reported attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which feeds crude to the Red Sea for export — even as some outlets noted that benchmark international crude prices actually eased on the day the notification was issued, underlining how volatile the pricing formula has become. The government continues to levy roughly Rs114/litre in taxes and duties on petrol and around Rs100/litre on diesel, on top of the ex-refinery price.
The relentless run of hikes has already forced the government’s hand once this week: as PakDaily reported on Sep 16, officials were weighing a “smart lockdown” to conserve fuel after petrol crossed Rs380/litre, even as ministers denied any final decision had been made. Now, with petrol closing in on the psychological Rs400 mark, petroleum dealers are pushing back hard against the government’s separate relief scheme for motorcycles and rickshaws (announced earlier this month, see PakDaily’s Sep 13 report). The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association is refusing to sell fuel under the subsidised scheme in its current form and is threatening to shut pumps altogether unless the government clarifies how it will reimburse dealers for the discount.
“Putting the financial burden of the relief scheme on dealers is not workable,” Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Vice Chairman Anwar Kamal told The News, adding that dealers had not been consulted before the scheme was announced and had gotten no response from the government despite reaching out for three days.
For commuters and transporters, the immediate effect is straightforward: another Rs6.88 added to every litre of petrol just two days after the last increase, with diesel — which drives freight and transport costs across the country — also creeping toward Rs425/litre. Economists and traders will be watching whether the daily-revision mechanism keeps pushing prices up through the rest of September, and whether the dealer standoff over the relief scheme escalates into an actual pump shutdown.
