ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has hiked the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Rs12.89 per kilogram in a notification released on Friday.
The new price of LPG will be set at Rs254.32 per kilogram as against the previous price of Rs241.43 per kilogram.
As per OGRA notification, the revised prices will remain effective for one month.
The hike in the price of LPG would put more strain on consumers using LPG for domestic use, especially those residing in areas where gas pipelines have not reached yet.
The prices of LPG are revised on a monthly basis by OGRA in view of international prices, exchange rates, and other related cost parameters.
OGRA issues monthly LPG price adjustments based on factors including changes in international market prices, currency fluctuations, and other relevant cost factors.
Fuel Price Surge Triggers Price Hike in 27 Essential Items
Meanwhile, rising petroleum prices continued to put pressure on household budgets, with the prices of 27 essential commodities increasing during the past week, according to the latest weekly inflation report released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
It was reported that the prices of 27 essential goods increased during the week, while the prices of six goods decreased, while that of 18 goods stayed unchanged. Even though there was an increase in the price of several goods, the weekly inflation rate based on SPI showed a decline of 0.91 percent on average. Yearly inflation, on the other hand, was estimated to be 9.05 percent.
According to PBS, high prices of fuels have caused an increase in the prices of several foods. During the week, the prices of onions increased by 7.62 percent, eggs by 3.16 percent, wheat flour by 2 percent and potatoes by 1.93 percent.
Other increases in the prices were recorded in the energy sector, whereby petrol was 2.46 percent expensive, diesel was 4.17 percent expensive and LPG was 1.90 percent expensive.
Among the commodities that registered a decline in prices on a weekly basis, tomatoes became cheaper by 22.96 percent, while chicken prices fell by 11.20 percent.
On an annual basis, tomatoes recorded a decline of 228.71 percent, onions 95.36 percent and wheat flour 78.65 percent. Electricity quarterly charges were down by 9.06 percent compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, the price of LPG rose by 51.76 percent year-to-year, with diesel rising by 37.42 percent and petrol by 23.28 percent.
Additionally, according to the PBS report, potatoes were 30.89 percent cheaper on a year-to-year basis, gram pulse was 19.89 percent cheaper, chicken 19.56 percent cheaper, sugar 17.48 percent cheaper, eggs 8.38 percent cheaper and mung pulse 7.
Economists say fluctuations in fuel prices continue to have a direct impact on transportation and supply chain costs, which ultimately affect the prices of food and other essential consumer goods.
