LAHORE: A petition challenging the increase in prices of petroleum products was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday.
Reflecting rising global oil prices, the government on Sunday increased by 2.5 percent to 4.6 percent the prices of all petroleum products for the next 15 days.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Friday proposed Rs12 per litre increase in the price of petrol from February 1. It had also proposed an Rs10 per litre hike on high-speed diesel price.
The petitioner, Judicial Activism Panel, requested the court to declare the move to jack up fuel prices as “illegal”.
It said more burden has been put on a public already reeling from rising inflation.
This hike comes against the backdrop of a rally in global crude oil prices, with Brent trading at $55.41 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) trading at $52.38 per barrel at the time of writing this story.
The increased fuel costs will keep the pressure on consumer price inflation, which was running at an annual 5.65 percent in January, easing from 8 percent the previous month.
