Islamabad November 18 2023: The imports of petroleum in Pakistan experienced a notable incline of 28.54 percent in October 2023, as per the latest data unveiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
This increase in petroleum imports can be attributed to an 63.8 percent year-on-year increase in the import volumes of crude oil by refineries and a 39.59 percent increase in the import of volumetric petroleum products.
Refinery margins collapsed in October from the near-record levels achieved during 3Q23, reported by IEA.
During October 2023, the total value of petroleum imports increased by 28.54 percent compared to the previous year, amounting to USD 1,527 million. Furthermore, these imports have inclined by 14.79 percent in comparison to the preceding month.
The reason for this import incline can be attributed to economic receovery despite higher prices of petroleum products, record-high inflation and elevated interest rates. Country Large Scale Manufacturing Index output increased by 1.01percent for September, 2023 when compared with September, 2022 and decreased by 3.56 percent when compared with August 2023.
In terms of volume, the imports of petroleum products experienced a incline of 39.59 percent in October 2023, reaching a total of 927 thousand tons. In the same period, the import of crude oil experienced a substantial increase of 63.8 percent, totaling 865 thousand tons.
On a different note, the imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) saw a deccrease of 6.26 percent, amounting to USD 278 million in October 2023, as compared to USD 296 million in October 2022. Conversely, the imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) observed a slight decline of 0.88 percent in October 2023, totaling USD 62 million, down from USD 63 million during the same month of the previous year.
