Islamabad: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has issued a warning against speculating on the price of petroleum products, urging caution amid recent claims by federal ministers that fuel prices may be reduced due to the rupee's strengthening against the dollar.
Caretaker Federal Commerce and Industries Minister Gohar Ejaz and Interim Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi had stated last week that petroleum oil and lubricant (POL) prices could see a reduction.
The Pakistani rupee has gained approximately Rs16 against the US dollar in the past 14 days, which prompted these assertions. Since Pakistan is an importer of petroleum products, it purchases them in dollars.
During the previous fortnightly review, the caretaker government had raised petrol prices by over Rs26 and diesel prices by more than Rs17 per liter, reaching historic highs of Rs331.38 and Rs329.18, respectively.
Responding to the ministers' statements, Ogra emphasized the importance of avoiding speculations about petroleum product prices. The authority explained that fuel prices in Pakistan are primarily influenced by international market prices and the exchange rate of the US dollar.
Ogra noted that while international petroleum prices have surged recently, there has also been an improvement in the dollar-to-rupee exchange rate. However, the authority emphasized that there is still one week remaining before the announcement of new fuel prices.
Therefore, any speculation about price increases or decreases during this period is highly speculative and could potentially disrupt the smooth functioning of the oil supply chain.
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