In a bid to provide relief to petroleum consumers, the government on Saturday slashed the oil prices by Rs5 per litre for the month of March 2020. The new prices will be implemented from March 1 (today).A notification issued by the finance ministry stated that the prices of petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) were reduced by Rs5 per litre, while kerosene oil and light diesel oil (LDO) have been cut down by Rs7 per litre.Petrol will now be sold at RsRs111.60 per litre against Rs116.60, while HSD will be available at Rs122.26 against the earlier price of Rs127.26 per litre.The rate of kerosene oil has been reduced to Rs92.45 from Rs99.45 per litre registering a reduction of Rs7 per litre, while the light diesel oil (LDO) witnessed a decline of Rs7 per litre from Rs84.51 to Rs77.51 per litre.According to sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan did not adhere to the advice of the finance ministry and issued the orders for lowering the prices of petroleum products.It is reported that the finance ministry and IMF wanted the government to raise the prices of petrol, gas and electricity. Premier Imran, however, said he would take whatever steps were required for lowering the prices of commodities and would end inflation in the country.It is also reported that the mini budget was not announced due to the efforts of the prime minister even though the global lender was pushing for it.Globally, oil prices dropped to the lowest in more than a year after hundreds of new coronavirus cases were reported in Europe and the Middle East. As the COVID-19 crashed the stock markets, it also affected oil prices globally dropping below $50 to its lowest since January 2019.Asia, Europe and oil-producing countries in the Middle East have reported hundreds of new coronavirus cases with the US warning of an inevitable pandemic.As the high speed diesel is used in transport and agricultural sectors, there is a likelihood that cut in its price will also cause a reduce inflation in the country.People use kerosene oil in the remote areas for cooking purpose where LPG is not available, while LDO is used in industries.Diesel followed by petrol is the most heavily-consumed petroleum product in the country, with an average per month consumption of around 700,000 tonnes and 600,000 tonnes, respectively.However, the consumption was among the lowest in the month of March, due to negligible requirements for heating or cooling systems.Similarly, the movement of people also remained low in the wake of coronavirus threats and students’ examinations.An official of the oil marketing company maintained that the consumption of diesel majorly increases after the second half of April and remains high until the end of June due to wheat harvesting and threshing,Meanwhile, the use of diesel also increases due to power outages at homes during this season.The government is currently charging 17% general sales tax on petroleum products and Rs3 to Rs18 per litre Petroleum Development Levy (PL).According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the levy on HSD has been increased from Rs18 to Rs25.05. On the other hand, the levy on petrol was raised by Rs4.75 or 31.7% to Rs19.75 per litre from the existing Rs15 per litre.The levy on kerosene oil nearly doubled from Rs6.56 per litre to Rs12.33 per litre.The levy on LDO jumped 62% from Rs3 to Rs4.94 per litre.