Pakistan Pete Prices To Rise Ave 2.4% Sat On Intl Prices

sg.biz.yahoo.com January 31, 8:56 PM

KARACHI (Dow Jones)--Pakistan's petroleum retail prices will rise an average of 2.4% because of increasing international prices amid the threat of war in Iraq and a strike in crude-giant Venezuela, the oil industry said in a statement Friday.

"In the backdrop of the Iraq crisis and a strike that has disrupted crude exports from Venezuela, prices of crude oil and products have undergone a sharp increase," the Oil Companies' Advisory Committee said in a statement.

The committee, which comprises oil marketing companies and refineries, said oil prices in the Gulf region have risen to their highest level since July 2001.

ADVERTISEMENT Pakistan buys most of its crude and products from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The statement said light Arabian crude rose 6.1% to $29.60 a barrel in the past 15 days and has gained 8.6% during January.

Domestic prices are normally linked to oil prices in the Gulf region, taxes, and changes in the value of the rupee against the dollar over the previous two weeks.

Oil companies declare high-sulfur diesel and fuel oil prices separately after the two products' markets were deregulated.

Pakistan's oil companies amend retail prices every 15 days under a price review system. Following are the new prices in Pakistan rupees a liter:

                  New Price     Previous Price  %Change

Motor Gasoline PKR32.96 PKR32.64 0.98 High Octane PKR36.83 PKR36.55 0.77 Kerosene Oil PKR21.32 PKR20.62 3.39 Light Speed Diesel PKR18.30 PKR17.53 4.39

-By Saeed Azhar, Dow Jones Newswires; 9221-5872854; saeed.azhar@dowjones.com