The Pakistani authorities have raised the prices of gasoline and diesel to an unprecedented level, in the second increase in less than two weeks, due to the repercussions of the inflation that the country is facing.

The Pakistani Ministry of Finance said in a statement that the government raised the price of gasoline by 26.02 rupees to 331.38 rupees per liter, while the price of diesel increased by 17.34 rupees to 329.18 rupees per liter.

The government of Islamabad approved this step following the announcement by the Pakistani central bank to keep the benchmark interest rate at 22 percent, predicting that inflation will rise in September, before slowing down in October and then maintaining a downward trajectory thereafter.

Consumer prices in Pakistan, with a population of 241 million, rose by 27.4 percent in August last year, as the country seeks to address rising inflation and dwindling foreign exchange reserves to move towards economic stability after it reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a loan worth three billion dollars in July last year.

Source: Qatar News Agency