Pakistan's petroleum imports fell by 1.26% in the first half of the fiscal year, as a sharp decline in liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases outweighed increases in crude oil and petroleum product imports.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, total imports of the petroleum group during July-December 2025 stood at $7.986bn, down from $8.088bn in the corresponding period last year.

Within the overall petroleum import bill, trends diverged sharply. Petroleum product imports rose by 5.05%, increasing from $2.972bn to $3.123bn. Crude oil purchases surged even more strongly, climbing 11.21% to $2.992bn from $2.690bn in the same period a year earlier.

In contrast, LNG imports contracted substantially. Purchases dropped 28.10%, falling from $1.889bn to $1.358bn. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports also declined, easing by 4.18% to $513.537m from $535.929m last year.

Despite the half-year contraction, monthly figures showed mixed momentum. On a year-on-year basis, petroleum group imports edged up 0.31% in December 2025 to $1.570bn, compared with $1.565bn in December 2024.

On a month-on-month basis, however, December registered a pronounced increase. Imports rose 23.99% compared with $1.266bn recorded in November 2025.

The data suggest that while overall petroleum imports moderated during the first half of the fiscal year, shifts within energy categories-particularly the steep fall in LNG-reshaped the composition of Pakistan's energy import bill.