The federal government has raised the price of high-speed diesel once again while keeping petrol unchanged, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) announced on Friday evening. Diesel now costs Rs. 393.66 per litre after a hike of Rs. 1.91, while the price of motor spirit (MS) petrol will stay frozen at Rs. 377.71 per litre for the next three days.
The latest revision keeps petrol prices on hold after Thursday’s small relief of Rs. 1.60 per litre, which had brought petrol down to Rs. 377.71. Diesel, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction for the second straight day, rising Rs. 1.64 the day before. With the fresh increase, diesel now costs nearly Rs. 16 per litre more than petrol — a wide gap that pinches the very people who drive the country’s economy, from truckers to farmers.
The daily fuel pricing experiment has produced a steady upward drift since it began. Since the government switched to daily fuel rate updates, petrol prices have climbed by Rs. 67 per litre and diesel by Rs. 70.36 per litre, according to the official price history. What started with petrol near Rs. 310 and diesel around Rs. 323 in the pre-daily pricing window has now pushed both fuels toward the Rs. 380–395 band, and the table of daily revisions shows almost no extended pause in the climb.
That climb matters far beyond the fuel station because diesel is the lifeblood of Pakistan’s freight and farming. Goods transport, public transport and agricultural machinery all run on diesel, which means every rupee added to the diesel price tends to ripple through food prices, freight charges and eventually the monthly budgets of ordinary households. With inflation already stretching Pakistani families, a pricier diesel quietly makes everything from vegetables to bus fares more expensive.
The daily pricing system itself has faced pushback from the industry it regulates. Pump owners have complained that revising fuel prices every single day creates confusion at filling stations, complicates bookkeeping and squeezes their operating margins.
Under the mechanism, OGRA reviews international oil prices and recommends adjustments, after which the federal government notifies the new rates for the coming days. The system was meant to pass global price movements to consumers more smoothly than the old fortnightly reviews, but Pakistan’s heavy dependence on imported fuel leaves it fully exposed to swings in the international market. With crude oil prices crossing $116 a barrel this week as energy markets entered what analysts called a danger zone, the pressure on domestic pump prices is unlikely to ease soon.
The announced prices will remain in force for the next three days, which means the next revision will be announced on Monday. Transporters, farmers and motorists across Pakistan will be watching closely to see whether petrol also resumes its climb or the government extends the freeze — and whether diesel, already at Rs. 393.66, inches closer to the Rs. 400 mark.
