Pakistan’s headline inflation drops below 27% in October

WEB DESK: In October, Pakistan experienced a headline inflation rate of 26.9 per cent compared to the previous year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

This figure marks a significant decrease from September’s rate of 31.4 per cent. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 1.1 per cent.

When examining the period from July to October, the average inflation rate stood at 28.48 per cent, up from 25.48 per cent during the same period last year.

The Ministry of Finance, in its latest ‘Monthly Economic Update and Outlook’ report, projected consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation in Pakistan for October to range between 27 per cent and 29 per cent.

The ministry anticipated that inflation would be lower and more contained compared to the elevated levels observed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.

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Breaking down the inflation rates further, urban CPI inflation increased to 25.5 per cent year-on-year in October 2023, compared to 29.7 per cent in the previous month and 24.6 per cent in October 2022.

On a monthly basis, urban inflation rose by 1.1 per cent in October 2023, a decrease from the 1.7 per cent recorded in the previous month and the 4.5 per cent in October 2022.

Similarly, rural CPI inflation increased to 28.9 per cent year-on-year in October 2023, down from 33.9 per cent in the previous month and 29.5 per cent in October 2022.

On a monthly basis, rural inflation also rose by 1.1 per cent in October 2023, compared to the 2.5 per cent increase in the previous month and the 5.0 per cent increase in October 2022.