The Middle East has descended into another round of conflict and its effects are already starting to reach fuel consumers in Pakistan. Pakistan will now review oil prices every day instead of once a week, allowing the government to respond to volatile global oil prices due to ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran.
The announcement came as Pakistan also reported a current account deficit of $139 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year, reversing the surplus recorded in the previous year. Petroleum Minister Ali Parvez Malik and Information Minister Ataullah Tarar announced the changes in a press conference on Friday. Petroleum Minister Ali Parvez Malik and Information Minister Ataullah Tarar announced the changes in a press conference on Friday.Malik said the Cabinet decided to hand over the task of setting fuel prices to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the oil and gas regulator in Pakistan. Under the new system, OGRA will set fuel prices on a daily basis.OGRA “will not only publish the fuel prices on its website used to set prices, but also publish the factors that lead to the price we see at every gasoline pump,” he said.
The Middle East and Pakistani fuel crisis hit
Pakistan has been reviewing oil prices every week after the start of the US-Iran war in late February.
Before that, fuel prices were reviewed every two weeks.The Pakistani government has faced criticism for delays in transferring the benefits of lower global oil prices to consumers.According to Malik, this move aims to make the pricing mechanism more transparent so that people understand why increases in fuel prices are sometimes unavoidable. He said that daily price announcements will be based on average global market prices over a period of seven days.He added that, as part of a broader liberalization process, fuel prices in the country would be in line with international markets without the need to consult anyone.
Energy sector plans
Malik also announced plans to boost domestic energy production, saying that Turkish Petroleum, Turkey’s national oil and gas company, will return to Pakistan in October to begin oil and gas exploration after a 20-year gap. This step comes in the wake of the recent visit of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Türkiye.Information Minister Tarar said that the rise in global oil prices is linked to the deterioration of the regional situation, and added that Pakistan’s efforts to resolve the situation “received the appreciation of the whole world.”
Gas station owners reject this policy
The All Pakistan Petrol Station Owners Association has rejected the proposed fuel price liberalization policy and warned that it may launch protests and a strike next week if the decision is not withdrawn.The association’s vice president, Noman Ali Butt, urged the government to reconsider the policy and said that petrol station owners should not bear the burden of the government’s problems.“The confidence of all stakeholders must be taken into account before setting prices with oil marketing companies,” he said in a video statement.Butt said about 15,000 petrol station owners across Pakistan have serious concerns about this proposal.
He said that the new policy would affect oil tankers, transportation and the pricing system, and called for consultation with gasoline station owners before implementation.
Pakistani financial portfolio
Pakistan continued to face economic challenges as the country recorded a current account deficit of $139 million in fiscal year 2025-2026 after recording a surplus of $1.838 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025.Data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Friday showed a return to deficit, which, although marginal, remains a source of concern and could be exacerbated by the situation in the Middle East.Pakistan recorded a current account deficit of $649 million in June, compared to a surplus of $500 million in May, Reserve Bank of Pakistan data showed. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s economy continued to rely heavily on remittances, as exports failed to grow while imports remained high. Pakistan recorded a trade deficit of more than $35.5 billion during fiscal year 2026, putting pressure on the current account.Goods exports fell to $30.843 billion in FY26 from $32.434 billion in the previous year.
However, services exports increased to $10.034 billion from $8.45 billion, which helped total exports register only marginal growth.Total exports of goods and services reached $40.877 billion in fiscal year 2026, compared to $40.793 billion in the previous fiscal year, an increase of only $84 million.Total imports reached $76.4 billion during fiscal year 2026. The external account was supported by remittances, which rose to $41.585 billion from $38.3 billion in fiscal year 2025, an increase of about $3.3 billion.