The government on Sunday reduced the price of petrol by Rs3.05 per litre, but jacked up the rate of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs8.95 per litre.

After the revision, ex-depot price of petrol comes down to Rs227.19 while HSD's rate shoots to Rs244.95 per litre. The old price of petrol was Rs230.24 per litre while diesel was at Rs236.00 per litre.

Kerosene oil saw a hike of Rs4.62 with the new price now at Rs201.07. Price of light diesel saw a Re0.12 reduction, taking the price from Rs191.44 to Rs191.32.

The new rates go into effect from August 1.

Earlier, oil refineries and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) had estimated up to Rs28.44 per litre raise in the prices of petroleum products.

"Based on the current rate of petroleum levy (PL), the estimated ex-depot price of petrol may rise by Rs 6.53 per litre, high-speed diesel (HSD) price by Rs 28.44 per litre, kerosene oil price by Rs 11.02 per litre and light diesel oil (LDO) price by Rs 5.64 per litre," the OMCs said earlier.

The prices of petrol and HSD were further impacted after the government increased dealers’ margin. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved the increment on Thursday, and had ensured dealers that the margin will be increased from August 1. The federal cabinet has also reportedly approved the increase to Rs7 per litre on motor spirit (MS) and high-speed diesel (HSD) from the current Rs4.90 and Rs4.13, respectively.