ISLAMABAD: The overall production of petroleum commodities witnessed a decline of 5.5 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (FY19) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
According to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the POL products that showed negative growth during the period under review included jet fuel (-4.43pc), kerosene oil (-4.89pc), high-speed diesel (-6.76pc), furnace oil (-11.42pc), jute batching oil (-2.79pc) and solvent Naptha (-32.36pc).
The commodities that witnessed a positive growth in yield included motor spirits (+9pc) diesel oil (+35.31pc), lubricating oil (+14.52pc) and liquefied petroleum gas (+31.51pc).
On a year-on-year basis, the production of POL products witnessed a negative growth of 10.54 in February 2019 as compared to the corresponding month of last year.
Meanwhile, the overall production of the Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) witnessed a decline of 1.72pc during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
LSMI Quantum Index Number (QIM) was recorded at 143.25 points during July-February 2018-19, as against 145.76 points during July-February 2017-18, showing negative growth of 1.72pc.
The highest decrease of 1.63pc was witnessed in the indices monitored by the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP), followed by 0.34pc negative growth in the products monitored by the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC). However, the indices monitored by the Provincial Board of Statistics (PBoS) witnessed s positive growth of 0.25pc.
On a year-on-year basis, the industrial growth decreased by 1.49pc in February 2019 as compared to the same month of last year. On a month-on-month basis, the industrial growth witnessed decreased by 5.11pc in February 2019 when compared to growth during January 2019.
The provisional QIM was computed on the basis of the latest production data of 112 items received from sources, including OCAC, MoIP and PBoS. OCAC provided data of 11 items, MoIP of 36 items while PBoS provided data of the remaining 65 items.
