In its first major day-to-day governance decision since taking over, the interim government announced a massive hike in the prices of petroleum products on Tuesday night, including petrol and diesel, of up to Rs20.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the price of petrol was raised by Rs18 and the price of high-speed diesel by Rs20.
It means that the new price of petrol will be Rs290.45 while the new price of diesel will be Rs293.40 per litre, respectively.
The new prices will remain in effect for another fortnight.
— Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan (@Financegovpk) August 15, 2023
The midnight announcement pointed to the rising cost of fuel in the international market over the past two weeks.
However, what it did not say was that Pakistan is obligated under the terms of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund to maintain parity between the price of a litre of fuel and the cost of a single US dollar.
The US dollar on Tuesday jumped by 1.04% or Rs 3.02 to Rs 291.51.
Interbank closing #ExchangeRate for today https://t.co/PSffDJrHqg#SBPExchangeRate pic.twitter.com/wz2CYM0KFi
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) August 15, 2023
Moreover, Pakistan has promised to impose a petroleum levy of up to Rs50 per litre under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.