Business Recorder
KARACHI: Pakistan’s oil marketing companies (OMCs) witnessed a sharp decline in petroleum product sales during May 2026 as elevated fuel prices weighed on consumption, with total industry sales falling 23 percent year-on-year and 14 percent month-on-month, according to a report issued by Topline Research. The brokerage house reported that OMC sales stood at 1.17 million tonnes in May 2026 compared with the corresponding period last year, primarily due to significantly higher petrol and diesel prices. Despite the monthly slowdown, cumulative sales during the first eleven months of FY2026 edged up by 1 percent year-on-year to 14.9 million tonnes from 14.8 million tonnes recorded during the same period of FY2025. Myesha Sohail, analyst at Topline Research said sales excluding furnace oil (FO) totaled 1.14 million tonnes in May, reflecting a decline of 21 percent year-on-year and 7 percent month-on-month. On a cumulative basis, ex-FO sales reached 14.4 million tonnes during 11MFY26, up 2 percent compared to the same period last year. The report attributed the decline in demand largely to a substantial increase in fuel prices. Average Motor Spirit (MS) prices rose by 59 percent year-on-year to Rs402 per litre during May 2026, compared with around Rs253 per litre in the corresponding month last year. Similarly, High-Speed Diesel (HSD) prices increased by 57 percent year-on-year to an average of Rs401 per litre. Product-wise data showed that petrol sales declined by 12 percent year-on-year to 617,000 tonnes during May, while remaining largely unchanged compared to April. Diesel sales, however, witnessed a steeper contraction, falling 32 percent year-on-year and 17 percent month-on-month to 455,000 tonnes. Furnace oil sales recorded the sharpest decline among petroleum products, dropping 64 percent year-on-year and 79 percent month-on-month to only 29,000 tonnes. Research said the decline likely reflected normalisation in demand following unusually elevated furnace oil consumption recorded in April 2026. Among listed oil marketing companies, Attock Petroleum Limited (APL) reported sales of 97,000 tonnes in May, down 30 percent year-on-year and 19 percent month-on-month. Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the country’s largest oil marketing company, posted sales of 518,000 tonnes, reflecting a decline of 19 percent year-on-year and 12 percent month-on-month. Despite lower volumes, PSO managed to increase its market share by 67 basis points to 44.15 percent during the month. Wafi Energy emerged as the only major company to record month-on-month growth, with sales rising 3 percent to 103,000 tonnes. However, its volumes remained 16 percent lower compared to May 2025. Meanwhile, Hascol Petroleum reported sales of 34,000 tonnes, down 37 percent year-on-year and 5 percent month-on-month. The report also highlighted progress on the government’s Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) collection target. The federal government has set a PDL collection target of Rs1.47 trillion for FY2026, of which approximately Rs1.33 trillion, or 91 percent, has already been collected during the first eleven months of the fiscal year, according to Topline research estimates. Analysts believe petroleum demand could remain sensitive to future price movements, economic activity, and transportation sector consumption trends, while government revenue collection through the petroleum levy is expected to remain robust if current pricing levels persist. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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