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Pakistan increases price of petrol by Rs1.35 per liter till next fortnight

Pakistan increases price of petrol by Rs1.35 per liter till next fortnight
Employees at a fuel station attend to their customers in Islamabad, Pakistan, on February 16, 2022, after a hike in prices of petroleum products. (AFP/File)
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Updated 01 November 2024
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Pakistan increases price of petrol by Rs1.35 per liter till next fortnight

Pakistan increases price of petrol by Rs1.35 per liter till next fortnight
  • New price of petrol increases from Rs247.03 per liter to Rs248.38 per liter, says Finance Division 
  • Petroleum prices revised based on price variation in the international market, says notification international market, says notification 
Updated 01 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have increased the price of petrol by Rs1.35 per liter till the next fortnight, the country’s Finance Division said in a notification late Thursday. 

As per the notification, the new price of petrol has been increased from Rs247.03 per liter to Rs248.38 per liter. 

“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products, based on the price variation in the international market,” OGRA said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, the government also increased the price of high speed diesel by Rs3.85 per liter, increasing it from Rs251.29 per liter to Rs255.14 per liter. 

The price of kerosene was slashed by Rs1.48 per liter, decreasing it from Rs163.02 per liter to Rs161.54 per liter, and the price of light diesel oil was slashed by Rs2.61 per liter, bringing it down from Rs150.12 per liter to Rs147.51 per liter. 

Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers in Pakistan while any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.

However, the negligible decrease in petrol and diesel prices is unlikely to provide much relief to the inflation-stricken Pakistanis.

Topics: petrol Pakistan

Pakistan October CPI up 7.2% y/y, statistics bureau says

Pakistan October CPI up 7.2% y/y, statistics bureau says
Updated 16 min 53 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan October CPI up 7.2% y/y, statistics bureau says

Pakistan October CPI up 7.2% y/y, statistics bureau says
  • The reading reinforced a month of easing inflation which hit a historic high of 38% last year
  • The central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate further at its meeting on Monday
Updated 16 min 53 sec ago
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s annual consumer price index inflation rate was 7.2% in October, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Friday, up from 6.9% the preceding month.

The reading reinforced a month of easing inflation — which hit a historic high of 38% last year, and was at 26.8% October 2023 — ahead of a meeting of the country’s central bank next week to review the policy rate, which stands at 17.5%.

A Reuters poll showed the central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate further at the meeting on Monday, with policymakers continuing their efforts to revive a fragile economy as inflation eases.

The October reading was up 1.2% month on month, the statistics bureau said, adding that the fiscal year’s average inflation, from July to October, stands at 8.7%, which is below the 9.5% projected by the International Monetary Fund.
 

Topics: economy Pakistan economy interest rate in Pakistan

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Pakistan central bank set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut to revive economy

Pakistan central bank set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut to revive economy
Updated 56 min 18 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan central bank set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut to revive economy

Pakistan central bank set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut to revive economy
  • All 15 investors and analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the central bank to cut rates next week
  • Policymakers continue efforts to revive a fragile economy as inflation eases off recent record highs
Updated 56 min 18 sec ago
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate further at its policy meeting on Monday, with policymakers continuing their efforts to revive a fragile economy as inflation eases off recent record highs.
The central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan, has slashed the benchmark policy rate to 17.5% from an all time-high of 22% in three consecutive policy meetings since June, having last reduced it by 200 basis points in September.
All 15 investors and analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the central bank to cut rates next week. Two expect a 150 bps cut, twelve predict a 200 bps reduction, and one forecasts a 250 bps cut.
Economic activity has stabilized since last summer when the country came close to a default before an eleventh hour bailout by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF, which in September gave a boost to Pakistan’s struggling economy by approving a long-awaited $7 billion facility, said that the South Asian nation had taken key steps to restore economic stability with consistent policy implementation under the 2023-24 standby arrangement.
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While the economy has started to gradually recover, and inflation has moved sharply down from a multi-decade high of nearly 40% in May 2023, analysts say further rate cuts are needed to bolster growth.
Mustafa Pasha, Chief Investment Officer at Lakson Investments, said rates must drop under 15% and hold below that for six months to have a material impact.
The IMF in its latest October report forecast Pakistan’s gross domestic product growth at 3.2% for the fiscal year ending June 2025, up from 2.4% in fiscal 2024.
The government expects annual inflation to have come in at 6-7% last month and slow further to 5.5-6.5% in November.
However, inflation could pick up again in 2025, driven by electricity and gas tariff hikes under the new $7 billion IMF bailout, and the potential impact of taxes on the retail and wholesale sector proposed in the June budget.
Ahmad Mobeen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that while lower rates will offer some relief to the manufacturing sector, the benefits may be limited due to “elevated input costs, driven by high electricity and gas tariffs, combined with global supply and shipping constraints.”
The survey responses on Monday’s policy rate decision are listed below:

Topics: Pakistan State Bank of Pakistan IMF

Pakistan party protests increase in petroleum prices despite slump in international market

Pakistan party protests increase in petroleum prices despite slump in international market
Updated 01 November 2024
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Pakistan party protests increase in petroleum prices despite slump in international market

Pakistan party protests increase in petroleum prices despite slump in international market
  • Global oil prices are likely to remain ‘too cheap’ in the near term, analysts say
  • Jamaat-e-Islami demands the government provide relief to inflation-hit Pakistanis
Updated 01 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) religious party on Thursday criticized the Pakistani government for increasing the prices of petroleum products, despite a decline in rates in the international market.
On Tuesday, US crude oil prices fell by 1 percent to below $67 per barrel, adding to Monday’s losses of more than 4 percent. This price level was the lowest since the beginning of October as market participants reassessed the risks of escalating Israeli attacks in the Middle East and potential disruptions in the oil sector.
Oil prices were likely to remain “too cheap” in the near term compared with fundamentals, Goldman Sachs analyst Daan Struyven told CNBC, citing demand from refilling the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve as well as from the airline industry.
But Pakistani authorities on Thursday respectively increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs1.35 and Rs3.85 per liter for the next fortnight, according to the country’s oil and gas regulator.
“The government is not ready to give relief to the people and the industry, then how will the country move forward,” JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman asked in his post on X late Thursday.
“Prices are decreasing in the international market and increasing in Pakistan.”
Rehman said the government increased the prices instead of announcing a major cut, demanding it to provide relief to the masses.
Pakistan revises petroleum prices every fortnight.
Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers in Pakistan, while any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
This is not the first that the JI has called on the government to provide relief to inflation-stricken people.
In August this year, Rehman had led thousands of his JI party supporters to the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where they had staged a weeks-long anti-inflation protest. Demonstrations were also occasionally held in other Pakistani cities during the month.

Topics: Pakistan petrol prices Jamaat-e-Islami JI

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Pakistani PM pitches energy, infrastructure, technology investments in meeting with Qatari businessmen

Pakistani PM pitches energy, infrastructure, technology investments in meeting with Qatari businessmen
Updated 01 November 2024
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Pakistani PM pitches energy, infrastructure, technology investments in meeting with Qatari businessmen

Pakistani PM pitches energy, infrastructure, technology investments in meeting with Qatari businessmen
  • Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Qatar seeks to bolster economic cooperation as Pakistan eyes foreign investment
  • The prime minister highlighted numerous opportunities that make Pakistan an attractive investment destination
Updated 01 November 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met a delegation of the Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA) and invited them to invest in Pakistan’s energy, infrastructure and technology sectors, Sharif’s office said on Friday, during his visit to the Gulf nation.

Sharif’s visit to Qatar, which began Wednesday, seeks to bolster economic cooperation as Pakistan eyes foreign investment to stabilize its frail $350 billion economy.

The QBA delegation, led by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al-Thani, comprised leading Qatari business figures, each representing influential sectors within Qatar’s economy.

PM Sharif highlighted numerous opportunities in sectors such as energy, infrastructure and finance that made Pakistan an attractive investment destination, according to his office.

“Delegates expressed interest in Pakistan’s economic landscape and, in particular, in upcoming projects in energy, technology, and infrastructure development,” it said in a statement.

“During the meeting, both sides explored potential collaborations that could drive job creation, innovation, and sustainable development in both countries.”

The meeting brought together key representatives from Pakistan and influential members of Qatar’s business community, emphasizing shared goals for strengthening trade, investment and economic partnerships, according to Sharif’s office.

The QBA members responded positively to the prime minister’s invitation and indicated their interest in expanding their investments into Pakistan.

On Thursday, Sharif separately met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his counterpart from the oil-rich Arab state, with both sides discussing the importance of strengthening bilateral collaboration in trade, investment, energy and other sectors.

Sharif led delegation-level talks with the Qatari emir before holding a separate meeting with him to discuss a wide array of issues.

“The leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Qatar relations, exploring potential avenues for enhanced cooperation in trade, potential areas of investment, energy, and culture,” Sharif’s office said.

Sharif’s meetings in Doha are primarily focused on trade and investment and regional discussions, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

Before arriving in Doha, Sharif attended the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he discussed trade and investment with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The talks built on recent agreements worth $2.8 billion, including investments in agriculture, semiconductor manufacturing, and energy, aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s economy and deepening ties between the two nations.

Topics: Shahbaz Sharif Pakistan Pakistan Qatar ties Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani

Children, policeman among seven killed in roadside blast in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Children, policeman among seven killed in roadside blast in Pakistan’s Balochistan
Updated 01 November 2024
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Children, policeman among seven killed in roadside blast in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Children, policeman among seven killed in roadside blast in Pakistan’s Balochistan
  • The blast, which appeared to target a police van, injured 22 other persons in the Mastung district  
  •   Balochistan, home to a long-running insurgency, has witnessed a spike in militancy in recent months
Updated 01 November 2024
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: At least seven people, including children and a police constable, were killed and nearly two dozen others injured in a roadside blast in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Friday morning, officials said, in the latest incident of violence to hit the restive region.
The blast appeared to target a police mobile van passing by a girls school in the Mastung district of the province, according to police and local administration officials.
The blast resulted from an improvised explosive device (IED) fitted inside a motorbike that was parked outside a mechanic’s shop, according to Mastung Deputy Commissioner Baz Muhammad Marri. The IED exploded when the police mobile and a school van were passing by early on Friday.
“Seven people, including a policeman and five minor children, were killed and 22 others injured in the blast,” Marri told Arab News. “We are ascertaining that who was actually targeted in the blast because a police mobile and a school van were both passing by the area.”

An injured boy receives treatment at the Civil hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, on November 1, 2024. (AN photo by Saadullah Akhtar)

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
Sarfaraz Bugti, chief minister of Balochistan, condemned the attack and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in its wake.
“The terrorists have targeted innocent children, we will hold accountable the perpetrators of the blast,” he said in a statement.
Waseem Baig, a spokesman for the Balochistan health department, said 11 injured, including two children, had been shifted to Quetta Trauma Center.
“Three injured are in critical condition and being treated as provincial health minister already declared an emergency in Civil Hospital Quetta,” he told Arab News.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to major China-led projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine, has been the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency by ethnic Baloch militants. The province has lately seen an increase in attacks by separatist militants.
On Tuesday, five people were killed in an attack by armed men on the construction site of a small dam in Balochistan’s Panjgur district. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups, claimed responsibility for the attack along with killing of two other persons in Kech and Quetta districts.
This month, 21 miners working at privately run coal mines were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen.
The separatists accuse the central government of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Besides Baloch separatists, the restive region also has a presence of religiously motivated militant groups, who frequently target police and security forces.
Islamabad says militants mainly associated with the Pakistani Taliban frequently launch attacks from Afghanistan and has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating anti-Pakistan groups. Kabul denies the allegation.

Topics: Pakistan Mastung Blast Balochistan mastung blast Baloch Liberation Army BLA Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)

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