RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) has expressed deep concern over the rise in prices of petroleum products and demanded the government to immediately review them.

The price of petrol has been raised from Rs147.83 to Rs159.86 a litre, high-speed diesel from Rs144.62 to Rs154.15, kerosene from Rs116.48 per litre to Rs126.56 and LDO from Rs114.54 to Rs123.97 per litre.

In a statement, RCCI President Nadeem Rauf said the business community was concerned over the sharp increase in prices, adding that inflation was already in double digits and rising prices would lead to a surge in inflation.

“Petrol and diesel prices have a direct impact on transportation costs, which would affect the construction sector. Rising diesel prices will increase the cost of construction material,” he added.

The RCCI president said people were facing difficulties due to high inflation and the business community was struggling to recover from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

“We demand the government to reverse the price hike,” he said, adding that in order to reduce the import bill, it was necessary to promote alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and electric.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2022