Higher prices of chicken, ghee, and bananas drive weekly inflation up

RAWALPINDI: As of December 12, 2024, Pakistan’s short-term inflation rose by 0.07 per cent compared to the previous week and by 3.71 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

The PBS tracks short-term inflation using the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which is calculated weekly to monitor price changes in essential goods. The SPI is based on 51 key items collected from 50 markets across 17 cities in Pakistan.

Over the week, several essential items saw price increases, with the cost of chicken rising by 3.80 per cent, vegetable ghee (2.27 per cent), bananas (1.99 per cent), potatoes (1.93 per cent), mustard oil (1.07 per cent), and cooking oil (0.98 per cent).

Additionally, there were smaller hikes in prices for items like washing soap, LPG, and cigarettes.

On the flip side, prices for onions dropped by 3.58 per cent, tomatoes by 3.10 per cent, eggs by 2.14 per cent, garlic by 1.58 per cent, pulse gram by 1.19 per cent, rice by 0.75 per cent, pulse mash by 0.59 per cent, wheat flour by 0.58 per cent, and firewood by 0.16 per cent.

Overall, out of the 51 tracked items, prices for 18 (35.29 per cent) increased, 11 (21.57 per cent) decreased, while 22 (43.14 per cent) remained unchanged.

Year-on-year inflation surged by 3.71 per cent, driven mainly by significant price hikes in ladies’ sandals (75.09 per cent), pulse gram (59.55 per cent), moong (36.44 per cent), potatoes (36.16 per cent), powdered milk (25.74 per cent), and beef (23.82 per cent).

On the other hand, notable price drops were observed in wheat flour (-35.88 per cent), red chili powder (-20.00 per cent), diesel (-10.77 per cent), petrol (-10.33 per cent), and onions (-8.92 per cent).

Across income groups, the SPI showed a slight decrease, ranging from 0.03 per cent to 0.08 per cent.

The lowest income group saw a minor rise of 0.03 per cent, while inflation for the highest income group edged up by 0.08 per cent. On an annual basis, inflation for the lowest income group increased by 3.68 per cent, with the highest income group seeing a 3.69 per cent rise.

In the agricultural sector, the average price of a 50 kg bag of Sona urea fertilizer was Rs4,542, down 0.23 per cent from the previous week, but 2.33 per cent higher than last year.

The price of cement dropped to Rs1,416 per 50 kg bag, marking a 0.31 per cent decrease from the previous week, though it remains 14 per cent higher than a year ago.

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