Weekly inflation declines by 0.51% but remains above 42% YoY

WEB DESK: In the week concluding on December 21, 2023, the Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group demonstrated a notable decline of 0.51 per cent on a week-over-week (WoW) basis.

In a year-over-year (YoY) comparison with the corresponding period from the previous year, the SPI exhibited a substantial increase of 42.6 per cent.

As per the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the combined index stood at 310, a slight decrease from 311.58 on December 14, 2023.

Comparatively, a year ago, on December 22, 2022, the index was recorded at 217.39.

Among the 51 tracked items, the average prices of 18 items experienced an upturn, 9 items witnessed a decrease, and 24 items maintained stability.

Significant decreases during the week were observed in the prices of potatoes (13.17 per cent), petrol super (4.97 per cent), diesel (4.68 per cent), tomatoes (3.45 per cent), and sugar (1.16 per cent).

Conversely, notable increases were noted in the prices of eggs (10.42 per cent), firewood whole (1.23 per cent), onions (1.19 per cent), pulse moong (0.88 per cent), and pulse gramme (0.79 per cent).

Analysing the weekly SPI percentage change across income groups revealed a uniform decrease across all quantiles, ranging between -0.39 per cent and -0.59 per cent.

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The lowest-income group experienced a weekly decline of -0.39 per cent, while the highest-income group recorded a decrease of -0.59 per cent.

On a yearly basis, the analysis of SPI change across different income segments indicated an increase across all quantiles, ranging between 35.13 per cent and 40.93 per cent.

The lowest income group witnessed a YoY increase of 35.13 per cent, while the highest income group recorded an increase of 40.93 per cent.

The average price of Sona urea surged to Rs4,493 per 50 kg bag, marking a 1.23 per cent increase from last week and a substantial 74.09 per cent surge compared to the prices of the previous year.

Meanwhile, the average cement price was recorded at Rs1,235 per 50 kg bag, indicating a 0.52 per cent decrease from the previous week but a notable 18.5 per cent increase compared to last year’s prices.