Weekly inflation remains above 43% in Pakistan

WEB DESK: In the latest economic update, the Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group experienced a marginal decline of 0.06 per cent WoW, concluding the week ending December 14, 2023.

However, in a year-on-year comparison, the SPI exhibited a substantial increase of 43.16 per cent, signalling notable shifts in the pricing dynamics as opposed to the corresponding period last year.

Data unveiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed that the combined index stood at 311.58, a slight dip from 311.78 recorded on December 7, 2023.

Contrasting with figures from a year ago on December 15, 2022, the index has surged from 217.64.

Among the 51 items under consideration, 19 witnessed a rise in average prices, 10 experienced a decline, and 22 remained stable.

Noteworthy decreases were observed in the prices of potatoes (12.18 per cent), tomatoes (5.18 per cent), Lipton tea (2.57 per cent), chicken (1.19 per cent), and rice basmati broken (0.52 per cent) during the week.

Conversely, notable increases were noted in the prices of sugar (6.02 per cent), pulse gramme (2.57 per cent), eggs (2.33 per cent), rice IRRI-6/9 (1.54 per cent), and pulse moong (1.23 per cent).

Read more: PKR ends another week in green

The weekly SPI percentage change across income groups indicated a decrease across all quantiles, ranging between -0.19 per cent and -0.04 per cent.

The lowest-income group experienced a weekly decline of -0.19 per cent, while the highest-income group recorded a decrease of -0.04 per cent.

On an annual basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments revealed an increase across all quantiles, ranging between 35.59 per cent and 46.99 per cent.

The yearly SPI for the lowest-income group increased by 35.59 per cent, while the highest-income group recorded an increase of 41.47 per cent.

In specific commodity highlights, the average price of Sona urea surged to Rs4,438 per 50 kg bag, marking a 4 per cent increase compared to last week and a substantial 75.34 per cent rise from the prices recorded last year.

Meanwhile, the average cement price was recorded at Rs1,242 per 50 kg bag, registering a slight 0.20 per cent decrease from the previous week but reflecting a 19.07 per cent increase compared to prices last year.

These fluctuations underscore the dynamic nature of market conditions in the current economic landscape.