The price of high speed diesel has been raised by 17.20, taking the rate of the essential fuel to Rs280 per litre.
The new prices have come into effect from Wednesday midnight, according to an official communiqué.
Among other POL products, the price of Kerosene was increased by 12.90 and light diesel oil by 9.68 a litre, with the new rates at 202.73 and 196.68 per litre, respectively.
The prices of petrol and diesel were last raised by a whopping Rs 35 amid the devaluation of the rupee against the dollar. Petrol price was increased again today.
Earlier today, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced the Finance Bill 2023, commonly known as the ‘mini budget’, in the National Assembly.
Shortly after it was tabled in the lower house of the Parliament, the bill was also presented in the Senate. The session was subsequently postponed until Friday (Feb 17).
On Tuesday, the government approved a hike of up to 113 percent in the natural gas tariff to collect Rs310 billion from consumers in six months. This increase in natural gas tariffs will cost citizens an additional Rs 736 billion in taxes and energy costs.
It was reported today that the global ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Pakistan’s sovereign credit rating from CCC+ to CCC-, citing concerns about policy, high refinancing risks, critically low reserves, and the IMF's stringent conditions.
This was the second such downgrade since October 2022, when Fitch first reduced Pakistan’s rating from B- to CCC+.
Given that Fitch usually does not provide outlooks to countries with a CCC+ rating and below, the agency’s downgrade reflects a worsening of the country’s external, fiscal, and economic metrics over the last 12 months. Further, S&P Global has already reduced its long-term rating for Pakistan from B to CCC+.