Weekly inflation eases as prices of 14 key items fall 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation eased slightly in the week ending June 27, with the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) falling 0.18 per cent from the previous week, official data showed on Friday. Compared to the same period last year, inflation dropped by 1.52 per cent.

The SPI, compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), tracks the weekly price movement of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities to gauge the cost of living over shorter intervals.

According to the PBS, prices of 14 items declined during the week, 12 registered increases, while the remaining 25 remained unchanged.

The weekly decline was primarily driven by lower prices of key food items. Egg prices dropped 12.27 per cent, followed by chicken at 10.75 per cent, bananas at 2.75 per cent, onions at 1.46 per cent and potatoes at 1.27 per cent. Wheat flour, pulse mash, and pulse moong also recorded slight declines.

On the other hand, electricity charges rose 6.88 per cent, garlic by 5.15 per cent, and LPG by 1.24 per cent. Modest increases were also seen in tomatoes, sugar, milk, curd, powdered milk, and firewood.

On a year-on-year basis, food and utility costs showed mixed trends. Significant annual declines were observed in onion prices, down 62.28 per cent, tomatoes by 40.70 per cent, electricity charges by 37.62 per cent, garlic by 27.06 per cent, and potatoes by nearly 20 per cent.

However, prices of several other essential items climbed over the year. Ladies sandals rose 55.62 per cent, sugar 27.35 per cent, powdered milk 25.97 per cent, and LPG 17 per cent. Prices of beef, vegetable ghee, gur, and lawn fabric also saw double-digit increases.

Inflation varied across income groups. Households in the lowest income bracket saw a weekly decline of 0.06 per cent in their expenses, while those in the highest bracket experienced a 0.25 per cent drop. On an annual basis, the SPI declined by 2.36 per cent for the lowest income group and by 0.20 per cent for the highest.

Among key construction inputs, the average price of Sona urea fertiliser declined to Rs4,443 per 50 kg bag, down 0.17 per cent from last week and 6.27 per cent from a year ago. Cement prices also edged down 0.20 per cent week-on-week, averaging Rs1,412 per 50 kg bag, though still up 10.72 per cent year-on-year.

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