Islamabad October 2 2023: It was reported that the sales of petroleum products in September 2023 experienced a substantial 28 percent decrease compared to the previous month, reaching their lowest level since March 2020.
This decline was primarily attributed to record high prices and decreased demand from the power sector, as indicated by data shared by OCAC.
During this period, Hascol Petroleum (APL) recorded the most significant decline with a 32 percent decrease in sales, followed by a 30 percent drop in sales for Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and an 18 percent reduction in sales volumes for Shell Pakistan (Shell) and Attock Petroleum Limited.
Furthermore, when compared to the same period in the previous year, petroleum sales saw a significant drop of 34 percent. This decline was linked to the increasing prices of oil and a decrease in demand. In September 2023, the government raised petroleum product prices in response to the rising international market prices for these products and the devaluation of the Rupee.
The average prices of Motor Spirit (MS) experienced a noteworthy increase of 12.25 percent, while High-Speed Diesel (HSD) prices rose by 12.30 percent during September 2023.
Sales of Motor Spirit (MS) for September 2023 decreased by 23 percent when compared to the previous month, totaling 0.52 million tons. This decline was driven by expectations of further price increases, and year-on-year MS sales also saw an 18 percent decrease.
A similar pattern was observed in the sales of High-Speed Diesel (HSD), which declined by 28 percent on a month-on-month basis, reaching 0.39 million tons in September 2023. This decrease was primarily due to reduced demand from the transportation and agriculture sectors, with HSD sales also dropping by 24 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.
Furthermore, sales of Furnace oil (FO) experienced a significant 28 percent month-on-month decline in September 2023, falling to 0.08 million tons. This decline was attributed to reduced demand from power producers, marking a substantial 72 percent decrease compared to September 2022 sales.
In addition, petroleum sales in the first quarter of 2023 witnessed a 16 percent decline, amounting to 3.77 million tons when compared to sales of 4.49 million tons in the same period the previous year.
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