Pak citizens limit use of vehicles as fuel prices shoot up

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 2 : With the continuous hike in fuel prices, Pakistan citizens have been forced to reduce their fuel consumption by limiting use of vehicles.
With the continuous rise in prices, the country has witnessed an 11 per cent decline collectively in the consumption of petroleum products in one month, Geo News reported.
It further said that there was a sharp decline of 16 per cent in consumption of diesel, similarly, a 12 per cent decline in the consumption of kerosene oil and a 2 per cent decrease in petrol consumption.
According to the data released by Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) on Friday, the country's oil sales jumped 11 percent to 22.5 million tonnes in fiscal year 2021-22.
The sale of high-speed diesel (HSD) reflected an eight per cent decline to 713,000 tonnes in June 2022, compared to the same month last year when 776,000 tonnes of HSD were sold, Geo News reported.
The sale of petrol in June slumped 10 per cent to 702,000 tonnes from 776,000 tonnes in the same month of the previous year. The sale of diesel and petrol in the month of June also dropped by 16 per cent and 12 per cent compared to May this year, respectively.
The textile industry in the country has decided to remain closed from July 1 to 8 amid the shortage of gas supply. The suspension of gas supply will affect the industries in Punjab as 70 per cent of textile mills are primarily located in that region.
The shortage of gas supply has already reduced textile production by up to 30 per cent and the latest suspension will reduce the output by up to 50 per cent, which will affect the economy of the country.
Shehbaz Sharif's government on Friday increased the prices of petrol again by PKR (Pakistani rupee) 14.84 per litre, a fourth time within a month.
The new petrol price has been fixed at PKR 248.74 per litre, the Pakistan Finance Ministry announced yesterday.
The price of high-speed diesel has also been increased by PKR 13.23 per litre and the new price has been fixed at PKR 276.54 per litre. While the kerosene oil price increased by PKR 18.83 and the rate of light-speed diesel has been jacked up by Rs 18.68 per litre, the notification reads.
Earlier, on June 15, the Pakistani government increased the petrol price by PKR 24 per litre.
Dawn News reported that the prices of high-speed diesel (HSD), petrol, kerosene, and light diesel oil (LDO) have gone up by a massive 83pc, 56pc, 73pc, and 68.4pc respectively, since May 26.
The price of petrol jumped to PKR 233.79 from PKR 209.86 per litre, increasing by 56 per cent from PKR 149.86 per litre before May 27.
The price of kerosene has been fixed at PKR 211.43 per litre, jumping 73 per cent since May 26 from PKR 118.31 per litre.
Also, the ex-depot price of light diesel oil has been set at PKR 207.4 per litre, increasing 68.5 per cent from PKR 125.56 per litre in May.
Since the Shehbaz Sharif government has come to power in Pakistan, the daily essentials are getting costly and have become out of reach of the common man due to recent hikes in petrol prices and power tariffs in the country.