Pakistan’s Petroleum Division has cut the price of petrol by Rs3.19 per litre to Rs376.06, while high-speed diesel (HSD) has been raised by Rs2.25 to Rs398.07, effective Wednesday, October 28, according to a notification reported by The Express Tribune and confirmed independently by Business Recorder and the Associated Press of Pakistan.
The new rates replace Tuesday’s prices of Rs379.25 per litre for petrol and Rs395.82 for diesel, which were themselves revised just a day earlier when diesel was raised by Rs2.16 and petrol by Rs1.54, Business Recorder reported. Pakistan has been reviewing fuel prices on a near-daily basis since the government replaced its traditional fortnightly pricing cycle with a daily mechanism on July 17, a shift intended to pass through swings in the international oil market more quickly instead of in large twice-a-month jumps. PakDaily’s last fuel price update, from October 25, had petrol held steady while diesel climbed — this time it’s petrol’s turn to move down.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), which calculates the ex-depot prices under the federal pricing formula, attributed Wednesday’s adjustment to “global developments, including changes in Platts rates, premiums and incidentals,” Business Recorder reported — industry shorthand for shifts in the international refined-product benchmarks Pakistan’s refineries price against, along with freight and import costs, rather than crude oil alone. That explains part of why petrol and diesel can move in opposite directions in the same review. The change came even as benchmark crude itself eased slightly on Tuesday: Brent crude slipped around $1-2 a barrel to trade near $113-115 a barrel and WTI fell by a similar margin to below $100, as easing Houthi-Saudi tensions and ongoing Middle East peace talks took some risk premium out of the market, according to Business Recorder and The Express Tribune.
| Fuel | Previous Price (Oct 27) | New Price (Oct 28) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol (Super) | Rs379.25/litre | Rs376.06/litre | Down Rs3.19 |
| High-Speed Diesel (HSD) | Rs395.82/litre | Rs398.07/litre | Up Rs2.25 |
Diesel powers most of Pakistan’s trucks, buses, tractors and freight network, so a sustained climb in HSD tends to feed into transport and food-supply costs more directly than a petrol move does, even when the per-litre change looks small on its own. Petrol, used mainly by motorcycles and smaller cars, has at least gotten a bit of relief this cycle, offering commuters some breathing room even as overall fuel costs in Pakistan remain close to the elevated levels seen for most of this year. The Petroleum Division’s notification did not specify when the next review would take place, but given the pattern of near-daily revisions since mid-July, another adjustment is likely within the next day or two.
