Prices of petroleum products raised by up to 9 per cent

SLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) increased prices of petroleum products on Sunday by a massive Rs4.27 to Rs7.11 per litre or up to 9 per cent with immediate effect to offset impact of the rise in oil prices in the international market.

According to an Ogra notification, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs5.91 per litre to Rs72.96 from Rs66.99 per litre, up by 8.9 per cent and that of High Octane Blending Component (HOBC) to Rs86.67 from Rs79.56 per litre, up by Rs7.11 per litre or 8.9 per cent.

The ex-depot sale price of kerosene oil has been jacked up to Rs70.95 from Rs65.80 per litre, up by about 7.8 per cent or Rs5.15 per litre, and the price of light diesel oil (LDO) to Rs66.61 from Rs62.34 per litre, an increase of Rs4.27 per litre or 6.8 per cent.

Oil marketing companies have separately been asked to increase the price of high speed diesel (HSD) to Rs78.33 from Rs73.82 per litre, an increase of Rs4.51 per litre or 6.11 per cent. The diesel price is notified separately by oil marketing companies because the product is completely deregulated.

Announcing the price revision, Ogra spokesman Syed Jawad Naseem said the international prices of kerosene and high speed diesel had increased by 8 and 7.4 per cent and those of petrol and furnace oil by 9.1 and 6.1 per cent, respectively.

The prices of jet fuels have also been increased by 8 per cent to 10 per cent. The JP-1 price was increased by 8.3 per cent to Rs60.26 per litre and that of JP-4 by 10.14 per cent to Rs57.45 per litre. The JP-8 price was raised by 7.85 per cent to Rs63.04. This is the first price increase since July this year.

The price increase is sure to push up overall inflation rate and the cost of industrial production that has already been under pressure because of higher electricity and gas rates and huge energy shortfalls.

As a result of increase in import prices, the profit margins of dealers and oil marketing companies have increased by 111 per cent and the rate of GST being collected by the government has gone up by up to 9 per cent. This is because the dealer commission and company margin are payable at the rate of 4 per cent and five per cent, respectively, while the GST at 16 per cent results in windfall revenue to the government.

The government will now earn an additional revenue of up to Rs1.03 per litre with the highest GST while dealers and OMCs will earn a higher profit of about up to 28 paisa per litre on various products. The government will earn an additional revenue of 87 paisa on petrol, Rs1.03 on HOBC, 75 paisa per litre on kerosene and 62 paisa on light diesel oil.

The inland freight equalisation margin has also been increased by 33 per cent on petrol, 31 per cent on HOBC, 29 per cent on kerosene and 6 per cent on LDO

The ex-depot product prices announced by Ogra will include the petroleum levy of Rs10 per litre on petrol, Rs14 on HOBC, Rs6 on kerosene, Rs8 on high speed diesel and Rs3 on light diesel oil for sales through retail outlets. In case of direct sales by oil companies, the petroleum levy will be higher than sales through retail outlets. As such, the government will collect Rs12.36, Rs16.79, Rs6, Rs9.50 and Rs3 per litre on petrol, HOBC, kerosene, HSD and LDO, respectively.

Last month, the government had reduced the prices of petroleum products by less than 0.4 per cent.

Ex-guerrilla to be Brazil’s first female president

SAO PAULO: A former Marxist guerrilla who was tortured and imprisoned during Brazil’s long dictatorship was elected Sunday as president of Latin America’s biggest nation, a country in the midst of an economic and political rise.

A statement from the Supreme Electoral Court, which oversees elections, said governing party candidate Dilma Rousseff won the election. When she takes office Jan. 1, she will be Brazil’s first female leader.

With 99 per cent of the ballots counted, Rousseff had 55.6 per cent compared to 44.4 per cent for her centrist rival, Jose Serra, the electoral court said.

‘‘I’m very happy. I want to thank all Brazilians for this moment and I promise to honor the trust they have shown me,’’ Rousseff told reporters who swarmed a car carrying her in Brasilia, her first public words as president-elect.

Rousseff, the hand-chosen candidate of wildly popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, won by cementing her image to Silva’s, whose policies she promised to continue.

She will lead a nation on the rise, a country that will host the 2014 World Cup and that is expected to be the globe’s fifth-largest economy by the time it hosts the 2016 Summer Olympics. It has also recently discovered huge oil reserves off its coast.

Rousseff was already speaking like a president-elect before the result was announced.

‘‘Starting tomorrow we begin a new stage of democracy,’’ Rousseff, 62, said in the southern city of Porto Alegre, where she cast her vote. ‘‘I will rule for everyone, speak with all Brazilians, without exception.’’

Silva used his 80 per cent approval ratings to campaign incessantly for Rousseff, his former chief of staff and political protege. She never has held elected office and lacks the charisma that transformed Silva from a one-time shoeshine boy into one of the globe’s most popular leaders.

Silva was barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive four-year term. He has batted down chatter in Brazil’s press that he is setting himself up for a new run at the presidency in 2014, which would be legal.

Despite Rousseff’s win, many voters don’t want ‘‘Lula,’’ as he is popularly known, to go away.

‘‘If Lula ran for president 10 times, I would vote for him 10 times,’’ said Marisa Santos, a 43-year-old selling her homemade jewelry on a Sao Paulo street. ‘‘I’m voting for Dilma, of course, but the truth is it will still be Lula who will lead us.’’

Within 20 minutes of Rousseff’s victory being announced, her supporters began streaming onto a main avenue in Sao Paulo, where eight years ago a huge gathering celebrated Silva’s win, the first time the Workers Party took the presidency. Police blocked off the road and workers were already constructing a stage for a party expected to last the entire night.

‘‘We’ve been waiting for this dream for so long,’’ said Sandra Martins, a 40-year-old school teacher who was dressed in Worker Party red and waving a large Rousseff campaign flag. ‘‘It’s going to be the third term for Lula — except this time represented by a woman.’’

Silva entered office with a background as a leftist labor leader, but he governed from a moderate perspective. Under his leadership, the economy grew strongly and Brazil weathered the global financial crisis better than most nations.

He is loved within Brazil by the legions of poor, who consider the nation’s first working-class president one of their own. His social programs and orthodox economic policies have helped lift 20 million people out of poverty and thrust another 29 million into the middle class.

Serra is a 68-year-old former governor of Sao Paulo state and one-time health minister who was badly beaten by Silva in the 2002 presidential election.

‘‘I voted for Dilma because she is a fighter,’’ said Estevam Sanches, a 43-year-old pizza parlor owner in Sao Paulo. ‘‘What we need is a fighter in the presidency to continue, as she says she will, with Lula’s efforts to eradicate poverty and strengthen the economy.’’

Rousseff was a key player in an armed militant group that resisted Brazil’s military dictatorship — and was imprisoned and tortured for it. She is a cancer survivor and a former minister of energy and chief of staff to Silva. She possesses a management style that earned her the moniker ‘‘Iron Lady’’ — a name she detests.

She is the daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant father, a lawyer who died when she was 14, and a Brazilian mother who was a schoolteacher. Her past points to an early political awakening.

In 1967, as a 19-year-old economics student, she joined a militant political group opposing the dictatorship. For three years she helped lead guerrilla organizations, instructed comrades on Marxist theory and wrote for an underground newspaper.

Rousseff denies carrying out any acts of violence during this period, says she opposed such action and notes she was never accused by the military regime of violent acts. —AP

Razzaq leads Pakistan to a narrow win over SAfrica

ABU DHABI: Abdul Razzaq’s dazzling 109 helped Pakistan edge to a morale-boosting one-wicket win over South Africa in the second one-day international at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan, which lost the opening one-dayer and both Twenty20 matches against South Africa, was staring at another defeat when Razzaq belted 10 sixes and seven boundaries for a 72-ball innings of 109.

Razzaq scored 63 of the last 65 runs and hit the final boundary as Pakistan overhauled South Africa’s score of 286 with one ball and one wicket to spare.

”This is one of my best innings ever and I am so happy that it came at a time when Pakistan cricket is going through so much troubles,” said Razzaq, who was named Man of the Match. ”I have been under tremendous pressure like many others in the team and I hope those criticizing us will realize that we are all playing for the country.

”I just wanted to stay till the end and I was just hoping that I do not mis-hit during the final overs as I was the only batsman left.”

Skipper Shahid Afridi, who had had a poor run in the three matches of the tour so far, finally found some form. Coming in at 70-4, Afridi started off on an aggressive note but after hitting three fours and two huge sixes, he got out to a rash stroke for 49.

After Afridi left, Fawad Alam was joined by Razzaq, the latter in pursuit of his first ODI half century in four years. Together they put 81 runs in just 75 balls to keep the Pakistan supporters interested before Alam scooped a catch to Albie Morkel to give Charl Langeveldt his 100th ODI wicket.

After that, Razzaq took over and not only reached his half century, the first since 2006, but went on to convert it into a match-winning century.

Earlier in the match, South Africa put up a healthy score of 286-8 after winning the toss and electing to bat. A superb century by Colin Ingram and half centuries by Hashim Amla and J.P Duminy steered them to that challenging total.

Ingram scored exactly 100, his second century in five ODIs since making his debut in the recent home series against Zimbabwe, while Amla and Duminy scored 65 and 54 respectively.

Ingram’s 100 came off 119 balls as the left-hander was at ease against both spin and pace. He scored 10 boundaries and one six and starred in two useful partnerships, an 84-run stand with Amla for the second wicket and another 86 runs for the third wicket with AB de Villiers.

Amla slammed eight fours in his 65-run knock off 62 balls while towards the end, Duminy’s 54, studded with three fours and a six, piled the misery on the Pakistan bowlers.

For Pakistan, skipper Afridi and Wahab Riaz, the young left arm fast bowler who replaced Umar Gul, took two wickets each.

Graeme Smith, who did not play, said he was disappointed that a great innings from Ingram and the rest of the batting displays went in vain.

”We dominated through the 50 overs of batting and also through the 34 overs of bowling,” Smith said. ”It was only in the last 16 overs that Razzaq took the game away from us. You can’t do anything when someone like Razzaq hits the ball so cleanly and so often.

”There have been a few positives and we will also work out a plan, especially the bowling at the death.”

Smith, who is nursing a finger injury which he suffered when a Shoaib Akhtar ball hit him in Friday’s first ODI, and Jacques Kallis, who is still recovering from a viral infection, both sat out the match. Robin Peterson and Albe Morkel came into the lineuip, with Johan Botha standing in as captain.

The ODI series now moves to Dubai where the remaining three ODIs and the first test will be played. The two teams meet in the third ODI on Tuesday. – AP