Pakistan: Rising Oil Prices Affect Country's Import Bill

www.paknews.com Updated on 2003-03-01 13:23:15

KARACHI, Pakistan: Mar 01 (PNS)- Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Chaudhry Nouraiz Shakoor Khan has said that escalating world oil prices have also been affecting Pakistan's oil market and badly impacting country's import bill.

This he said while responding to newsmen about a query on the increase in the petroleum prices announced by the Oil Company Advisory Committee (OCAC) here Friday.

He said that oil prices in international market had risen to $ 40 a barrel Friday and this was 12-year high in wake of possible US attack on Iraq.

Elaborating the continuous upward trend in world oil prices, the Petroleum Minister said that the prices had increased primarily because of fears in the international market that Iraq was round the corner.

Not only that, the supply from Venezuela has been disrupted for the last three months because of a strike there. These factors have resulted in reduction of oil stocks of many countries and a source of continuous increase of oil prices in the world market, he observed.

Nouraiz Shakoor said that the government fully understands The problems of common man and it will provide prompt relief to them in case of any sign of downward trends in the international oil market.

The End.