ISLAMABAD: The federal government Thursday announced another massive hike in the prices of petroleum products increasing the price of petrol to Rs209.86.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the decision was taken due to the rising prices of petroleum products in the international market, adding that the government was still bearing losses despite the massive increase in the prices.

Ismail said that the prices of diesel and light diesel have also been increased by Rs 30 per litre. The new price of diesel will be Rs 204.15 and that of light diesel will be 178.31 per litre. The increase in prices of petroleum products will be effective from midnight (12.00a.m) today.

He said that the price of kerosene oil has been increased by Rs26.38 per litre. The new price of Kerosene will be Rs181.94 per litre.

The finance minister said that the government was bearing the loss of around Rs91 billion due to provision of subsidies on petroleum products.

“The prices of petroleum products increased further since May 31st in the international market that could mount the losses to around Rs130 billion,” he added.

The minister said that the hike in petrol prices would definitely increase inflation but t was inevitable as he had to strike a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “We cannot accept all their demands but there are certain points that we have to agree to,” he added.

He said that the government had taken measures to reduce the negative impacts of inflation on a poor segment of society by providing a relief package.

The finance minister rubbished PTI chief Imran Khan’s claims that his government was close to make deal with Russia to buy oil at cheaper rates. “No newspaper mentioned Pakistan’s deal with Russia,” he added.

He said that the former energy minister had written a letter to Russian authorities informing them about Pakistan’s willingness of buying Russian oil but the authorities had not responded to the minister’s letter.

‘Good news’

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail earlier in the day also shared an update about the Chinese debt in a tweet.

“The terms and conditions for refinancing of RMB 15 billion deposit by Chinese banks (about US$ 2.3 billion) have been agreed. Inflow is expected shortly after some routine approvals from both sides,” he said.

The finance czar was of the view that it would help shore up the country’s foreign exchange reserves.