Bearing the additional burden of Rs33 billion, the government decided to keep the prices of various petroleum products unchanged for the next fortnight.
“As per decision of the prime minister in the fortnightly review on February 28, the petroleum product prices will remain unchanged,” finance ministry said in a statement.
Subsequently, the government will bear the additional burden of Rs33 billion for the fortnight (April 1-5) to keep the prices at the existing level, the statement added.
Consequently, petrol would be sold at Rs149.86 per liter, high-speed diesel at Rs144.15 per liter, kerosene oil at Rs125.56 per liter and light diesel oil at Rs118.31 per liter.
Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a reduction of Rs10 per litre on all petroleum products for four months and the prices will remain in place till the new financial year.
The government has already released Rs28 billion to oil marketing companies for the outgoing month of March after the OMCs threaten to stop the import of the commodity owing to the higher global oil prices.
Oil prices remain almost 80 per cent higher than it was a year ago after the war in Ukraine helped to drive up prices.
Earlier, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had approved an Rs20 billion subsidy for oil marketing companies (OMCs) and refineries to ensure the uninterrupted supply of petroleum products in wake of soaring global prices of the commodity.
