The government kept the petrol price unchanged on Friday and decreased the diesel rate by Rs1.77 for the next fortnight ending on March 30.

According to the notification issued by the finance ministry, the petrol rate was Rs279.75/litre after being kept unchanged and the diesel price was Rs285.56 per litre after the Rs1.77 decrease.

On March 1, the outgoing caretaker government increased the petrol price by Rs4.13 per litre to Rs279.75 for the next two weeks but left the price of high-speed diesel unchanged.

Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers while diesel is used in heavy vehicles, trains and agricultural engines like trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells and thrashers.

Oil prices in the international market dipped on Friday, a day after topping $85 a barrel for the first time since November, but prices were expected to finish more than 3% higher for the week on rising demand from US refiners completing planned overhauls, Reuters reported.

Brent crude oil futures slid 9 cents or 0.11% to $85.33 a barrel at 12:16pm CDT (1716 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 17 cents or 0.21% to $81.09.

Prices had been range-bound for much of the last month roughly between $80 to $84 a barrel. Then the International Energy Agency on Thursday raised its view on 2024 oil demand for a fourth time since November as Houthi attacks have disrupted Red Sea shipping.

World oil demand will rise by 1.3 million bpd in 2024, the IEA said in its latest report, up 110,000 bpd from last month. It forecast a slight supply deficit this year should OPEC+ members sustain their output cuts having previously forecast a surplus.