Since 21 July 2026, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has set a new petrol price every working day. It starts at midnight.
Each price starts from a 7-working-day average of the world price. So one day’s fall in oil is only 1 of 7 days in it.
How often does the petrol price change?
In 2025, the price changed twice a month. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) publishes each new price, and its archive shows the steps.
| Period | How often | Notices |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1st and 16th of each month | 24 |
| 1 January to 1 March 2026 | 1st and 16th of each month | 5 |
| 7 March to 18 July 2026 | About once a week | 21 |
| 22 July to 13 October 2026 | Every working day | 57 |
In the weekly period, 19 of the 21 notices took effect on a Saturday. The other 2 were Fridays: 3 April and 1 May.
On 17 July 2026, the Government announced that OGRA would set fuel prices every day. OGRA’s first daily sheet took effect on 21 July.
PSO’s notices went daily the next day, 22 July. You can see every step on the petrol price history, and 2025 on its own page.
When does a new price take effect?
OGRA publishes a price at the close of each working day. It takes effect at midnight, so Monday’s notice sets Tuesday’s price.
That is why every one of OGRA’s 58 daily sheets, from 21 July to 13 October 2026, took effect on a Tuesday to a Saturday.
No price takes effect on a Sunday or a Monday. So Saturday’s price stands for 3 days.
For example, petrol cost Rs 398.30 from Saturday 10 October. The next price, Rs 395.37, took effect on Tuesday 13 October.
On 3 other dates there was no new price: 11, 15 and 27 August. Each time, the price before it stood.
How does OGRA work out each day’s price?
Each sheet starts from the Platts quotation, a world price for finished petrol in US dollars a barrel. For petrol, it is Gasoline 92 RON.
This is not one day’s market price. OGRA defines it as the average Platts Arab Gulf price over the last 7 working days.
The rupee rate is averaged over the same 7 days. Each day, the newest working day joins each average and the oldest one leaves.
You can see the 7 days in the decimals. On 22 July 2026, OGRA printed the quotation as $100.81857 a barrel.
Long decimals like these are what dividing by 7 leaves. From 30 July, OGRA has printed the figure to 2 decimals.
Then the sheet adds the other lines, in 3 groups: “The fuel, shipped to Pakistan”, “Getting it to the pump” and “Government”.
What makes up the petrol price explains each line. The build-up shows today’s sheet, line by line.
Why doesn’t the price fall the day oil falls?
A common complaint is that the pump price ignores a fall in oil. The record shows the fall does arrive, but spread over several sheets.
The reason is the average. A sharp fall on one day is only 1 of the 7 days OGRA counts.
Late September 2026 shows this. The Platts quotation fell on 7 sheets in a row, and the petrol price fell on 6 of them.
| Price from | Platts quotation, $ a barrel | Petrol, Rs a litre |
|---|---|---|
| 22 September | 133.27 | 393.75 |
| 23 September | 132.30 | 392.05 |
| 24 September | 131.20 | 390.12 |
| 25 September | 130.73 | 389.28 |
| 26 September | 129.54 | 391.30 |
| 29 September | 128.76 | 389.03 |
| 30 September | 127.92 | 387.54 |
| 1 October | 127.74 | 387.40 |
Over those 8 sheets, the quotation fell by $5.53 a barrel. Petrol fell by Rs 6.35 a litre, in small steps.
It is the same going up. From 29 August to 22 September, the quotation rose on 16 sheets in a row, from $105.44 to $133.27.
Petrol went from Rs 342.02 on 29 August to Rs 393.75 on 22 September. The rise came in steps, not in one jump.
So the average works both ways. It slows a rise as well as a fall.
Can the price rise on a day oil falls?
Yes. The quotation is only the first line, and the pump price is the sum of all of them.
On 26 September, the quotation fell by $1.19 a barrel. But petrol rose by Rs 2.02, to Rs 391.30.
The premium, what the supplier charges above the quotation, rose from $14.12 to $16.36 a barrel. That was more than the fall in oil.
The inland freight equalisation margin (IFEM) also rose that day, from Rs 7.71 to Rs 7.91 a litre. Both are lines OGRA prints.
The Government can move the price too. It decides the Petroleum Levy, Rs 80.00 a litre on all 58 of OGRA’s daily petrol sheets.
Did the levy raise the petrol price? looks at that line on its own.
Last, the daily price is the most a pump may charge. Why the pump charges more explains why some pumps charge above it.
Common questions
How often does the petrol price change in Pakistan?
Every working day since 21 July 2026. Each new price takes effect at midnight, on a Tuesday to a Saturday.
Who sets the petrol price in Pakistan?
OGRA works it out each day from a fixed formula. The Government decides the levy, which was Rs 80.00 a litre on 13 October 2026.
Why doesn’t the petrol price fall the day oil falls?
OGRA uses a 7-working-day average of the world price. One day’s fall is only 1 of the 7 days in that average.
Does the petrol price change on Sunday or Monday?
No. No new price takes effect on those days, so Saturday’s price stands until Tuesday.
How often did the price change before daily pricing?
Twice a month in 2025, on the 1st and the 16th. From 7 March 2026 it changed about once a week.
Sources
- Every daily petrol figure from 21 July 2026OGRA’s daily price build-up, as this record holds itPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- The $100.81857 quotation, 22 July 2026OGRA price publication 14673, the 22 July 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- The rise on 26 September 2026The 26 September 2026 day recordPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Notice dates and counts, 2025–2026PSO’s archive of notified fuel pricesPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- The 7-working-day average and the rupee rateHow this record is read: the Platts quotationMethod
- The decision of 17 July 2026Profit report on the move to daily fuel pricingPress
- The 21 July start and the 7-day averageDawn column by Afia Malik on the petroleum pricing reformPress · opinion
Prices here come from OGRA’s sheets; PSO’s archive gives only dates and counts. PSO holds 2 different petrol prices for 7 October 2026, so no figure from that day is used.