Islamabad – The federal government on Friday decided to reduce petrol and diesel prices by Rs 22 per litre each.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that providing relief to the public was among his top priorities. The premier had promised the nation that relief would be provided to the public as soon as there was a room to do so. That promise had now been fulfilled exactly as stated and served as a gift to the public on the third day of Eid-ul-Azha.
It is pertinent to mention that last week, relief was also provided to the public through reductions in petrol and diesel prices. Even under the most difficult circumstances, the federal government continued providing relief to the people and offered fuel subsidies for public and goods transport, as well as for motorcycle and rickshaw users.
At a time when people in other countries in the region were standing in queues to obtain petrol, timely measures taken by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ensured that petrol and diesel remained available to the public in Pakistan.
During the worst global oil crisis, despite rising international oil prices, the PM prevented increases in domestic fuel prices by providing subsidies of over Rs 130, thereby continuing to deliver relief to the public.
Oil prices receded on Friday, boosted by optimism that the United States and Iran will reach a deal to end their war that has hobbled global energy supplies.
Oil markets have whipsawed this week as investors parse the chances of a breakthrough agreement between Washington and Tehran that could potentially resume normal shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Those hopes had been briefly dashed by new US military strikes on Iran Wednesday night, countered by Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard’s targeting of an American airbase in the region.
But by Thursday evening, negotiators had edged toward a deal to extend their fragile ceasefire for 60 days, though approval from President Donald Trump was still needed, US sources told AFP.
During Friday morning trading in Asia, the price of Brent crude was down 0.9% to around $93 a barrel, while primary US benchmark West Texas Intermediate shaved 1.1% to just below $88 a barrel.
Leading indices on stock exchanges in Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei surged by more than two percent, while Sydney was up by one percent. Hong Kong’s gains were more muted, while Shanghai’s main benchmark had lost 0.4%.
Wall Street’s advances on Thursday came despite several gloomy indicators, with the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rising in April to its highest since 2023 and first quarter economic growth being revised lower.
The combination of persistent inflation and slowing growth lowers the chances of interest rate cuts by the Fed, despite Trump’s repeated calls for lower rates to boost the economy.
Still, “recession risks are easing as oil prices moderate and the probability of worst-case scenarios fades”, wrote Matthew Martin of Oxford Economics.
“While reduced risks from the war have helped, the improvement in equity prices is mostly because of a robust earnings season. The driver is overwhelmingly AI-related capital expenditure,” he said.
Global AI bullishness has driven a historic rally, this week pushing the market capitalizations of chipmakers Micron and SK hynix across the $1 trillion threshold.
In Europe, observers are awaiting a key gathering of leaders on Friday to discuss ways to address gaping trade deficits with China.
