Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday announced a reduction in the price of petrol by Rs12.63 per litre.

Dar, while holding a press conference for the first time after assuming the post, said that the new prices would come into effect from midnight tonight (Friday).

The decision came after oil prices dipped in choppy trading but notched their first weekly gain in five on Friday, underpinned by the possibility that OPEC+ will agree to cut crude output when it meets on Oct 5, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures for November, which expire on Friday, fell 53 cents, or 0.6%, to $87.96 a barrel. The more active December contract was down $2.07 at $85.11. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.74, or 2.1%, to $79.49.

After the reduction, the new price of petrol in Pakistan will be Rs224.80 per liter.

The price of kerosene oil was also decreased by Rs10.19 per litre. The price of high-speed diesel has been decreased by Rs12.13 per liter while that of light diesel oil (LDO) was reduced by Rs10.70 per litre.

The finance minister also announced an extension in the deadline for filing income-tax returns. He said that the deadline for filing income-tax returns was being extended to October 31.

“I have been receiving calls that people are facing problems in filing their income tax returns,” he said adding that he had been receiving requests from the trade bodies and other associations to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns particularly due to recent floods.

Dar said that during the current fiscal year Rs84 billion tax returns have been filed so far as compared to the previous fiscal year when Rs62 billion were filed till the same quarter.

The international market has seen support from the prospect of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies considering cutting production quotas by between 500,000 and 1 million barrels per day (bpd) at their Oct 5 meeting.

“A deteriorating crude demand outlook won’t allow oil to rally until energy traders are confident that OPEC+ will slash output,” senior OANDA analyst Edward Moya said.

Analysts expect a production cut because demand fears linked to a possible global economic slowdown and rising interest rates have weighed on crude prices.