The Minority in Parliament has dismissed assertions by the government that the gold for oil deal will lead to a reduction in fuel prices in the coming days.

The group alleged that the oil was purchased at a premium rather than a discount and will not amount to a drop in fuel prices.

The government took delivery of 40,000 metric tons of the first consignment of the gold for oil deal on January 15 with the expectation of reducing the pressure on forex and also presenting the country with cheaper fuel.

But speaking to journalists, the Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, John Jinapor said the transaction is rather worsening the situation.

“As they claimed that this gold for oil deal will lead to fuel price reduction, fuel prices are going up and the information I have is that the oil they bought was bought at a premium and not as a discount, so this narrative that they are going to get cheap oil somewhere is not true.

“There is nothing like cheap oil when it comes to international oil trading. On the contrary, this deal is leading to a premium in terms of the pricing so the notion that oil prices will go down is untrue. The diesel covers only 25 percent of our diesel requirement. So that is not even enough to change the price.”