Petrol Prices Will Not Go Down on 1st December: OGRA

The oil price in the international market saw a decline over the week as the supply finally began to meet the increasing demand. The development, however, is unlikely to bring any relief for Pakistani consumers as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) said on Monday that there would be no change in prices of petroleum products on 1st December 2021. The price of Brent Crude oil, which is imported by Pakistan, dropped from $82.43 per barrel last Wednesday to $78.89 per barrel on Monday. Industry experts believe that bridging the supply gap on the back of eased COVID-19 restrictions throughout the world has caused the prices to drop. It is believed that the prices will continue to decline and will fall below the $70 mark. It should be noted that the government of Pakistan has been continuously raising the petrol price, which currently stands at an all-time high of 145.82, citing a price surge in the international market. However, when the oil prices declined in the global market, the government did not follow the pattern to plug the current account deficit. An OGRA expert told Samaa Digitial that the pricing mechanism is not as straightforward as it seems and that it may take up to 15 days to pass on the relief as the value of the US dollar is still on the higher side. He added that the prices would remain unchanged on 1st December. Energy expert, Tahir Alam, said that the masses will only witness a significant relief if the falling oil prices coincide with the US Dollar price declining.