Petroleum products' production up by 13.53 percent

The production of petroleum products witnessed 13.53 percent increase during the fiscal year 2017-18 as compared to the corresponding period of the last year. According to latest data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the petroleum products that contributed in positive growth included motor spirits, output of which grew by 18.31 percent during the period under review while the production of jet fuel oil increased by 0.77 percent. The production of High Speed Diesel surged by 14.72&, Diesel oil by 28.59%, and output of Furnace oil witnessed growth of 9.33%. Similarly, the production of Jute batching oil increased by 11.02%, Solvent Naphtha by 6.54%, and the production of LPG increased by 46.94%.
The petroleum products that witnessed negative growth in production included kerosene oil, output of which decreased by 14.69 percent, while the production of lubricating oil declined by 10.74 percent. Meanwhile on year-on-year basis, the production of petroleum products increased by 18.60 percent during the month of June 2018 against the production of same month of last year.
It is pertinent to mention here that the overall Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) of the country witnessed growth of 6 percent during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year. The country's LSMI Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) was recorded at 149.19 points during July-May (2017-18) against 140.75 points during July-May (2016-17), showing growth of 6 per cent.
The highest growth of 3.62 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Ministry of Industries, followed by 1.58 percent growth in the products monitored by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) and 0.80 growths in the indices of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).
On year-to-year basis, the industrial growth increased by 2.76 percent during May 2018 as compared to same month of last year, however, on month-to-month basis, the industrial growth decreased by 11.63 percent in May 2018 when compared to growth of April 2018, the PBS data revealed.