Petroleum products cheaper by Rs5 per litre in Pakistan

Islamabad - The government was expected to slash domestic retail prices of petroleum products by up to 17 per cent for February 2016.

 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced Rs5 per litre cut in petroleum product prices with effect from February 1.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has recommended to the government to make a big cut in oil prices, hinting that in the international market its prices may go further down in the wake of increased oil supply, as Iran is also going to join the international market after lifting of sanctions.
"It is my pleasure to announce that petrol and diesel prices have been further reduced by Rs5 per litre," the prime minister said while addressing the media. "Inflation rate has also fallen below two per cent," he added.
The government was expected to slash domestic retail prices of petroleum products by up to 17 per cent for February 2016.
"Not only has the rate of inflation decreased, the country has also seen a drastic fall in the level of corruption," Sharif said.
"The country is going through an economic breakthrough, the level of foreign investments has never been this high."
Informing the reporters about Pakistan's role as a mediator in the ongoing Saudi-Iran rift, the prime minister said Pakistan chose to help the two countries because it felt that tensions between the two countries should be resolved.
The opposition have been criticising the government for not passing on to the consumers the benefit of drastic fall in oil prices. PTI chief Imran Khan recently claimed that the government saved $11 billion in the past two years in the wake of fall in oil prices and asked the government to explain where this saving had been spent.
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• Pakistan