Overview
- The government negotiated a cap on the high-speed diesel (HSD) crack spread with local refineries that cut diesel by about Rs32.63 per litre under an OGRA notification on August 20.
- Retail prices were adjusted again in quick succession, with a small rise on August 21 and a further increase to petrol Rs341.59 per litre and HSD Rs368.29 per litre effective August 22–24.
- The federal cabinet approved raising dealer margins by Rs1.34 per litre to Rs9.98 effective September 1 to avert a dealers’ strike and shift some sector costs onto consumers.
- Officials set a petroleum levy receipts target of Rs1.676 trillion for FY27 based on an average Rs80 per litre levy, limiting room for sustained levy cuts to ease prices.
- Analysts say the cap will trim recent extraordinary refinery margins by roughly $8–10 per barrel but leave margins above long-term averages and create inventory and valuation losses for OMCs and dealers.