Weekly inflation eases as chicken, onion prices drop over 5 per cent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation edged down by 0.22 per cent in the week ending 24 October 2024, though it remains 15.15 per cent higher than during the same period last year.

The PBS tracks short-term inflation weekly through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which gauges essential commodity prices to monitor price trends more closely. The SPI covers 51 key items collected from 50 markets across 17 major cities.

This past week, of the 51 items tracked, prices of 13 items (25.49 per cent) increased, 10 items (19.61 per cent) dropped, while 28 items (54.90 per cent) remained steady.

Among the items that saw a decrease, chicken led with a 7.12 per cent drop, followed by onions (5.07 per cent), gur (2.07 per cent), wheat flour (1.16 per cent), and pulse mash (1.14 per cent).

In contrast, price rises were noted for potatoes, up by 3.33 per cent, garlic by 2.97 per cent, pulse moong by 2.84 per cent, eggs by 2.02 per cent, and bananas by 0.75 per cent.

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The latest data showed that all income brackets experienced a slight weekly decrease, ranging from 0.18 per cent to 0.24 per cent. The lowest income group saw a decrease of 0.18 per cent, while the highest income group experienced bigger 0.21 per cent drop.

Annually, the SPI surged across all income levels, with increases ranging from 10.36 per cent for the lowest income bracket to 18.11 per cent for others. The highest income group saw a 13.9 per cent rise over the past year.

In terms of specific goods, the average price for a 50-kg bag of Sona urea reached Rs4,573, up 0.10 per cent from last week and 20.83 per cent from last year. Cement prices averaged Rs1,449 per 50-kg bag, marking a 0.40 per cent weekly drop but a 21.17 per cent increase year-on-year.

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