The caretaker government has decreased the prices of petrol by Rs8 and diesel by Rs11 respectively, following a fortnightly revision. The new rate of petrol was now Rs323.38 per litre and high speed diesel was Rs318.18.

“In the wake of variations in international prices of petroleum products & improvement in the exchange, the Government of Pakistan has decided to revise the consumer prices of petroleum products,” said the notification.

The reduction in the fuel rates was expected on Saturday as earlier this month a couple of ministers had hinted at such a possibility, owing to the rupee appreciation.

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said on September 23 that the government would have to spend less on importing petrol after the dollar fell by around Rs35 against the rupee earlier this month.

This is the first decrease in petrol prices since the interim government came to power in August.

The interim first announced an increase of almost Rs18 per litre in the price of petrol on August 15. It again announced a hike of up to Rs18 per litre in fuel prices on September 1 and another increase in the prices of petrol by Rs26.02 per litre two weeks later.

“When the currency has stabilized, you will see its results, I am hopeful of the good news on the rate of petrol on October 1 that was increased due to the hike in currency,” Interim Commerce Minister and Industries Minister Gohar Ejaz told reporters alongside Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori in Karachi said last week.

Oil prices on Thursday reached their highest levels in nearly a year, with Brent North Sea crude advancing towards $100 on tight supplies, an increase that has weighed on stock markets, AFP reported.

Brent hit $97.69 a barrel on spot markets, the highest price since November last year, before easing as profit-taking set in. New York’s main contract, WTI, hit $95.03, a peak since August 2022, but later dropped below $94.