LPG gets dearer for November: household cylinder now Rs3,470 as open-market price runs double the official rate
The LPG price for November has gone up by Rs14.73 per kilogram, and the household cylinder that millions of Pakistani kitchens depend on now officially costs Rs3,470. The new rates, notified by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Saturday, take effect across the country from today, November 1.
What the notification says
OGRA has fixed the November LPG price at Rs294.07 per kg, or Rs294,075 per tonne, against Rs279,341 per tonne in October. On that basis, the standard 11.8-kg domestic cylinder rises by Rs173.86, from Rs3,296.23 to Rs3,470.09. The regulator links the increase to a 6.47 percent rise in the Saudi Aramco contract price, partly offset by a 0.12 percent fall in the average dollar exchange rate. In plain terms, the global market moved, and the kitchen felt it.
The official rate is only half the story
The real pinch is in the open market. Dawn reports LPG selling there for up to Rs630 per kg — more than double the official rate — while company-operated franchises are charging as much as Rs400 per kg. Traders blame a shortage deepened by the US-Iran war, and warn the crisis will compound if supply does not improve. With winter approaching and demand about to climb, that gap between the notified price and the price people actually pay is the part that hurts most.
A strike threat from November 16
The trade has also put the government on notice. LPG Distributors Association of Pakistan chairman Irfan Khokhar says marketing companies will shut down from November 16 if the private sector is sidelined in the upcoming LPG policy. Pakistan LPG Marketers Association chairman Ali Haider has announced a nationwide strike from the same date. Their demand is simple: give the private sector a seat at the table when the policy is written, or watch the supply chain stall.
For households, the arithmetic is unforgiving. Even at the official rate the cylinder costs Rs174 more than it did a month ago, and in the market most people buy from, it costs far more than that. November has begun with cooking gas dearer, scarcer, and — if the strike threat holds — possibly harder to find.
