Business

Oil industry foresees petrol and diesel shortage, warns OGRA

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Oil Companies Advisory Council informed OGRA about looming shortage in a letter.
Under product review, deficit of 210,000 MT of HSD and 147,000 MT of petrol was worked out.
Says petrol import corresponding to anticipated sales volume and stock cover has not been booked.

KARACHI: The oil industry has communicated to the government about an expected petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) shortage in the coming days due to inadequate imports and limited local availability, reported The News.

The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), a representative body of the oil sector, has informed the regulator Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) about the shortage in a letter.

The OCAC said that motor spirit/petrol and HSD imports were finalised after extensive deliberation and allowed to oil marketing companies (OMCs) in line with their demand in product availability review of products for the month of November 2022.

Under product review, deficit of 210,000 MT of HSD and 147,000 MT of petrol was worked out. It was highlighted in the meeting that HSD imports in November might be challenging owing to limited availability in the international market and very high premiums; hence so far, only PSO has booked shipments of 220,000 MT & 10,000 MT by Flow Petroleum.

However, it is alarming to note that petrol import corresponding to the anticipated sales volume and stock cover has also not been booked. The import plan should have been finalised by the importers but, so far, there is a deficit in the import plan, the OCAC letter said.

This critical issue was also highlighted in the meeting held on November 1 with the industry representatives; however, no firm commitments have been received from the importing OMCs in writing, it said.

A few OMCs sales for October have been higher than they expected and have been continuously carrying low stocks since October 2022.

The OMCs, which were supposed to bring imports for use in October, received their shipments in the last week of October; hence, product was not available for use during the month it was intended for. Similarly, the OMCs which were allowed imports in the previous month for use next month have already consumed the parcels in advance, the letter noted.

“Keeping in view the ongoing sales trend and the number of days cover currently being maintained by the OMCs, we foresee product availability challenges in various pockets of the country in days to come, due to inadequate imports and limited local avails,” the OCAC said, requesting the regulator to issue necessary directives to the importing OMCs for strict adherence to import plans to avoid a shortage.

Business

An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

Business

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

Business

The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.