What is the light diesel oil price in Pakistan, and who sets it?

Light diesel oil costs Rs 267.46 a litre in Pakistan, in force since Saturday 17 October 2026. That is Rs 124.29 below diesel.

The figure comes from Pakistan State Oil (PSO), which notifies it. Since 1 June 2011, refineries and oil companies notify this price themselves.

You might expect the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to price it like diesel. It has published no build-up for it since 2011.

So the record holds one figure a day for light diesel oil, and nothing under it. Today’s price is on the kerosene oil price page.

What is light diesel oil used for?

Pakistani sources say little about it. The PSO fuel pages I opened do not mention light diesel oil.

An older Pakistan Economic Survey has a table of oil use by sector, with figures to 2006–07. Its note on farming says:

“Agricultural sector represents LDO only.”

The same note says diesel used on farms is not shown apart. It is counted under transport.

So in that table, all oil counted under farming is light diesel oil. I found no Pakistani source that lists its other uses.

Who sets the light diesel oil price?

OGRA once published light diesel oil’s price line by line, every 2 weeks. Its last such build-up is for 1 May 2011.

At the foot of that section, OGRA’s document says why it stops:

“Effective June 1st, 2011, Refineries and OMCs have to notify ex-refinery and ex-depot prices of MS, HOBC, LDO, JP1, JP4 & JP8.”

OMCs are oil marketing companies, the firms that sell fuel, such as PSO. MS is petrol, and LDO is light diesel oil.

PSO notified Rs 88.30 for 1 May and for 1 June 2011. That equals OGRA’s last printed total.

A news report gives the change to the Government. ARY News wrote that “the federal government” revised it on 9 May 2026.

Its new price, Rs 265.84, matches PSO’s notice for that day.

No document I hold says which body decides the figure today. So this note names who notifies it, and stops there.

How does light diesel oil compare with diesel today?

These are the 4 prices for 23 October 2026. 2 come from OGRA’s daily sheet and 2 from PSO’s notice.

Light diesel oil was Rs 124.29 below diesel and Rs 59.29 below kerosene oil. It was the cheapest of the 4.

For diesel, OGRA’s sheet lists every line, including a Rs 80.00 petroleum levy and a Rs 5.00 Climate Support Levy.

For light diesel oil, the record holds the total only. So it cannot show how much of the Rs 124.29 gap is tax.

Has light diesel oil ever cost more than diesel?

Yes, on 2 dates. Both are in March 2026, when PSO held diesel at Rs 335.86 a litre.

In every other PSO notice with both prices, light diesel oil cost less than diesel. The figures come from PSO’s archive.

How often does the light diesel oil price change?

From 22 July to 19 August 2026, it changed on 18 of 19 notice dates. That is almost daily.

From 22 August, it changed only on Saturdays. Every change since then is in this table:

No document I hold calls this a rule. It is a pattern in the notices, not a stated policy.

Unlike kerosene oil, light diesel oil has no contested date in this period. Where 2 notices share a date, both give the same figure.

What was the highest light diesel oil price?

The highest notified price is Rs 395.03 a litre. PSO notified it for 3 April 2026, and again for 4 April.

The record marks a price contradicted when it jumps away and comes straight back. Petrol’s Rs 458.41 and diesel’s Rs 520.35 were marked that way.

Light diesel oil’s Rs 395.03 was not. It held for 2 notices, then fell by Rs 25.31 to Rs 369.72 on 11 April.

Before 2026, the highest was Rs 226.15, from 1 July 2022. Every figure is a printed price, not adjusted for inflation.

The light diesel oil history lists every notified price since 2006.

What made up a litre of light diesel oil in 2011?

OGRA’s last light diesel oil build-up is for 1 May 2011. Its lines, as published, read:

The lines add up exactly to the printed total. Sales tax was 14.53% of it, and the refinery price 81.03%.

The levy line was Rs 0.00 on 70 of OGRA’s 103 light diesel oil rows. Its highest was Rs 13.09, on 1 March 2009.

The dealer margin line was printed as Rs 0.00 on all 103 rows. The document gives no reason for it.

That build-up stops in 2011. So the record cannot explain today’s Rs 267.46 line by line, or say whether it carries a levy.

Why the build-up stops in 2011 explains where these older lines come from.

What does the record hold, and what is missing?

The record holds 335 PSO notices with a light diesel oil price, from 2006 to 23 October 2026.

There is a gap. The record holds no light diesel oil price from 76 PSO notices, dated January 2015 to August 2020.

2 older dates have more than 1 figure. On 1 January 2006, 4 notices give 4 prices, from Rs 54.94 to Rs 98.74.

On 1 March 2014, 2 notices give Rs 57.94 and Rs 100.22. The record marks both dates contested and chooses no figure.

Every flag in this note is listed on the data checks page.