Weekly inflation declines as prices of 10 essential items decrease

LAHORE: Pakistan’s short-term inflation saw a 0.65 per cent decrease over the past week, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). However, when compared to the same period last year, inflation rose by 1.9 per cent.

Out of the 51 essential items monitored during the week, prices increased for 18 items, accounting for 35.29 per cent of the total. Meanwhile, prices for 10 items, or 19.61 per cent, decreased, while 23 items, or 45.10 per cent, remained stable.

Several key items experienced notable price increases during the week, including Pulse Moong, which saw a 2.56 per cent rise, Cooking Oil (5-litre) at 1.56 per cent, Sugar at 1.23 per cent, Chicken at 0.80 per cent, Vegetable Ghee (1kg) at 0.61 per cent, Bread at 0.57 per cent, Vegetable Ghee (2.5kg) at 0.49 per cent, Washing Soap at 0.43 per cent, Garlic at 0.39 per cent, and Firewood at 0.12 per cent.

In contrast, certain items recorded significant price drops, such as Tomatoes, which declined by 31.40 per cent, Potatoes by 10.36 per cent, Eggs by 5.96 per cent, Pulse Gram by 1.64 per cent, and Onions by 0.87 per cent. Rice varieties such as Basmati Broken and IRRI-6/9, along with Pulse Mash and LPG, also saw minor declines in prices.

On a yearly basis, inflation registered an overall increase of 1.90 per cent. The most significant price hikes were observed in items like Ladies’ Sandals, which surged by 75.09 per cent, Potatoes by 58.76 per cent, Pulse Gram by 42.11 per cent, Pulse Moong by 34.15 per cent, Powdered Milk by 25.76 per cent, and Beef by 23.75 per cent.

Additional notable annual increases were seen in Garlic, Gas Charges for the first quarter, Vegetable Ghee (1kg), Cooked Daal, Shirting, and Firewood. Conversely, prices of certain essential commodities such as Onions, Wheat Flour, Eggs, Chilli Powder, and electricity charges for the first quarter saw considerable declines compared to the previous year.

The impact of inflation also varied across different income groups. For the lowest income group, there was a weekly inflation decrease of 1.03 per cent, while the highest income group experienced a 0.54 per cent drop. Yearly inflation across income segments ranged between 1.28 per cent and 2.22 per cent, with the lowest income group seeing a 1.44 per cent increase, and the highest group recording a 2.22 per cent rise.

The average price of a 50kg bag of Sona urea was Rs4536, reflecting a slight weekly decline of 0.07 per cent and a yearly drop of 1.84 per cent. Meanwhile, the average price of a 50kg bag of cement fell to Rs1398, marking a 0.43 per cent weekly decrease, though it remained 14.47 per cent higher compared to last year’s prices.

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