Govt keeps petrol, diesel prices unchanged for next fortnight

• Same fuel prices will remain in effect till June 30: Dar.
• Finance minister rejects media reports claiming reduction in prices. 
• Decision taken in view of slight increase in international prices.

The federal government has announced keeping the fuel prices unchanged for the next fortnight.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday announced the decision in a televised address.

Rejecting the media reports regarding fuel prices, Dar said the decision to maintain the fuel prices had been taken in view of international rates.

The finance minister said international crude oil and gas prices had witnessed slight increase in the past few days.

He said the government had cumulatively decreased the diesel and petrol prices by Rs35 and Rs20 in the last 30 days.

However, the price of light diesel oil has been increased by Rs2.52 and will be Rs150.20 per litre from tomorrow. 

The same prices will remain in effect till June 30, he added. 

During the last fortnightly review on May 31, The federal government reduced the prices of petroleum products by up to Rs8 per litre.

The price of petrol was reduced to Rs262 per litre after a cut of Rs8 while diesel came down to Rs253 per litre after a reduction of by Rs5.

The government's announcement comes as it faces increased pressure due to rising petrol prices — which had reached a record of Rs282 per litre earlier this year — and inflation, which is currently the highest in the region.

The recent decline in global oil prices has provided some relief, but the government is still facing difficulty in keeping prices down as the rupee depreciates.