logo
Move to cushion PSO: Exchange rate losses adjusted into petrol prices

Move to cushion PSO: Exchange rate losses adjusted into petrol prices

ISLAMABAD: To cushion Pakistan State Oil (PSO) against exchange rate losses, the federal government has adjusted its fortnightly petroleum pricing, effective June 1, 2025, by reducing the Inland Freight Equalization Margin (IFEM) and slightly increasing average of Platts with incidentals and duty.
The federal government adjusted Rs2.17 per litre exchange rate losses into petrol prices which led to increase in petrol prices by Re1 per litre with effect from June 1 to 15.
With a major importer, state-owned PSO has 55 percent share in total petroleum products. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) as a regulator takes PSO cost of supply to determine the fortnightly prices of petroleum products.
As compared with previous fortnight (May 16-31), avg of platts with incidentals and duty reduced by 58 paisa from Rs150.46 to Rs151.04 per litre.
The PSO exchange rate adjustment increased from Rs1.34 to Rs3.51 per litre.
The IFEM has been brought down by Rs1.75 per litre from Rs6.30 to Rs4.55 per litre on petrol.
The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has kept unchanged by adjusting 0.05 paisa raise in ave of platts with incidentals and duty, 20 paisa increase in PSO exchange rate with 25 paisa reduction in IFEM.
The petroleum levy (PL) on petrol and HSD has been kept unchanged at Rs78.02 per litre and Rs77.01 per litre.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Move to cushion PSO: Exchange rate losses adjusted into petrol prices
Move to cushion PSO: Exchange rate losses adjusted into petrol prices

Business Recorder

time2 days ago

  • Business Recorder

Move to cushion PSO: Exchange rate losses adjusted into petrol prices

ISLAMABAD: To cushion Pakistan State Oil (PSO) against exchange rate losses, the federal government has adjusted its fortnightly petroleum pricing, effective June 1, 2025, by reducing the Inland Freight Equalization Margin (IFEM) and slightly increasing average of Platts with incidentals and duty. The federal government adjusted Rs2.17 per litre exchange rate losses into petrol prices which led to increase in petrol prices by Re1 per litre with effect from June 1 to 15. With a major importer, state-owned PSO has 55 percent share in total petroleum products. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) as a regulator takes PSO cost of supply to determine the fortnightly prices of petroleum products. As compared with previous fortnight (May 16-31), avg of platts with incidentals and duty reduced by 58 paisa from Rs150.46 to Rs151.04 per litre. The PSO exchange rate adjustment increased from Rs1.34 to Rs3.51 per litre. The IFEM has been brought down by Rs1.75 per litre from Rs6.30 to Rs4.55 per litre on petrol. The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has kept unchanged by adjusting 0.05 paisa raise in ave of platts with incidentals and duty, 20 paisa increase in PSO exchange rate with 25 paisa reduction in IFEM. The petroleum levy (PL) on petrol and HSD has been kept unchanged at Rs78.02 per litre and Rs77.01 per litre. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

OMCs failing to keep 20-day stock to face penalties
OMCs failing to keep 20-day stock to face penalties

Express Tribune

time2 days ago

  • Express Tribune

OMCs failing to keep 20-day stock to face penalties

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has decided to impose penalties and in some cases suspend licences of oil marketing companies (OMCs) over failure to maintain 20-day oil stocks and lift the required petroleum products from refineries. The refineries will also face Ogra's action if they produce less-than-committed volumes for three consecutive months. In a letter to the leading OMCs, Ogra said it has observed that numerous OMCs were not adhering to their commitments made during the product review meeting (PRM) regarding the lifting of stocks from local refineries. "This failure to comply with the PRM directives is not only adversely impacting Ogra's oil supply chain management but is also damaging energy security and causing substantial revenue losses due to imports, which is tantamount to violation of the authority's directions," the regulator said, adding that after careful consideration and thorough deliberation, it made the decision that the OMCs which fail to lift local products vis-a-vis their commitment/ allocation in the PRM from refineries, fail to maintain 20 days of stock and the refineries which produce less-than-committed products for three consecutive months, would be placed before the authority for consideration of suspension of their marketing licence. The regulatory authority, during its meeting held on May 29, 2025, reviewed serious contraventions related to stock maintenance and product procurement. After deliberation, it approved immediate imposition of penalties by the department concerned under Rule 69 of the Pakistan Oil (Refining, Blending, Transportation, Storage and Marketing) Rules, 2016. As per Rule 37, the OMCs that failed to maintain the mandatory 20-day stock cover in March 2025 shall be penalised based on the shortfall in the average stock days. The OMCs which maintained less than five days of stocks will face a penalty of Rs10 million, for five or less than 10 days of stocks, the penalty will be Rs7.5 million, for 10 or less than 15 days of stocks, the penalty will be Rs5 million and for 15 or less than 20 days of stocks, the penalty will be Rs1 million. The regulator will also slap penalties on the OMCs that lifted insufficient products from the refineries. It will impose a penalty on the refineries that failed to supply allocated products to the OMCs and even those refineries will face action that produced less than the quantity committed in the PRM during March 2025. The OMCs which had more than 10% and less than 25% shortfall in lifting petroleum products from the refineries will face a Rs1 million penalty, in case of more than 25% and less than 50% shortfall, the penalty will be Rs5 million, in case of more than 50% shortfall, the penalty will be Rs7.5 million and those which had a shortfall of more than 75% in supplies from the refineries will face a Rs10 million penalty. For April 2025, the regulator directed the department concerned to issue show-cause notices to the relevant OMCs and refineries by May 30, 2025. A response period of seven working days from the date of issuance was granted. The authority further advised that show-cause notices for May 2025 be issued by June 20, 2025. Future enforcement measures Ogra has decided that any OMC failing to lift local products in relation to its PRM commitment or maintain a 20-day stock cover, and any refinery under-producing against its commitment for three consecutive months, will be subject to the possible suspension of their marketing licence. The enforcement department has been instructed to issue this directive to all the entities concerned. The authority has told the enforcement department (legal) to finalise the draft of "Petroleum Products Review Meeting Regulations, 2025" in consultation with the relevant departments. The draft will be submitted to the stakeholders for feedback, who will be allowed a period of seven working days to provide their comments.

Banks delay import payments
Banks delay import payments

Express Tribune

time4 days ago

  • Express Tribune

Banks delay import payments

The price of local currency has started increasing gradually in both open and interbank markets Listen to article Commercial banks have once again started delaying import-related payments due to the limited availability of foreign currency, caused by major foreign debt repayments due before the end of June and the need to meet the reserves-related condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The situation warrants that the central bank either completely stop purchasing foreign currency from the markets or drastically reduce it to improve the supply of dollars, according to background discussions with multiple bankers. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday did not provide an official version on the matter. Banking and market sources told The Express Tribune that some major and small banks were delaying import-related payments by two to three weeks, particularly in cases of open-account and contractual imports. The banks were also providing dollars for the clearance of letters of credit (LCs) to some major importers at rates higher than the interbank rate, they added. Because of the situation, the spread between the interbank and open market has started widening, and a few banks have again been compelled to ration the provisioning of dollars. The interbank rate was over Rs282 to a dollar, while in the open market the dollar was available close to Rs285, said banking and currency market sources. The situation is not as bad as the 2022 crisis, and it is high time that the central bank took notice to avoid any speculation in the market, said a senior executive of a private bank whose institution was also facing the challenge of ensuring sufficient dollar provision for import payments. Concerned authorities said on condition of anonymity that the local currency did come under pressure in both open and interbank markets. However, they said that it was a temporary phenomenon and would end soon. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pak Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) were also facing issues in getting the right price of the dollar for making payments against their imports. The sources said that PSO paid about Rs3 higher for its latest import payment compared to the previous contract. This would translate into a higher petrol price for consumers. Pakistan is scheduled to make $2.4 billion in foreign commercial debt repayments to China next month, in addition to payments to some other multilateral lenders. The foreign exchange reserves stand at $11.5 billion, which is not enough to make these payments and at the same time retain reserves in double digits. The IMF has also further tightened the end-June Net International Reserves (NIR) target to negative $7.5 billion—a further tightening of $1.1 billion compared to the target agreed upon in September last year. To meet these targets and foreign debt repayments, the central bank is still purchasing dollars from the market. The end-March negative NIR target was $10.2 billion, which means the central bank needs an additional $2.7 billion cushion just to meet the end-June target, according to the IMF report. Another senior executive at a bank said that export and remittance proceeds were sufficient to cover imports, but the challenge lay with the financial account, which was putting pressure on the exchange rate. He said the central bank should refrain from buying dollars for a few weeks to ease market conditions. Representatives of the banking industry have already brought the issue of the emerging shortage of foreign currency to the attention of the central bank, according to those privy to the discussions. Despite the IMF programme, Pakistan has not received enough foreign loans this time. Central Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad said a few months ago that the SBP had bought over $9 billion from the local market in 2024 to build reserves. The SBP spokesperson did not respond to questions about the reasons behind the recent pressure on the rupee-dollar parity, or whether there was a backlog of about $1 billion in deferred import-related payments due to the dollar shortage. He also did not respond to questions regarding the increasing spread between the interbank and open market rates or the strategy the central bank is adopting to address the situation. The buying of dollars from the market has helped reduce foreign debt by $800 million during the first nine months of this fiscal year. A stable rupee has also played a major role in bringing down the inflation rate to low single digits. However, exporters complain that tight control over the dollar price is eroding their competitive edge, and they argue that market forces should be allowed to play their role. There is also a seasonal increase in demand for foreign currency due to Hajj, which central bank authorities expect will now subside.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store