Weekly inflation edges up as prices of 17 items rise

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation rose slightly during the outgoing week, with the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) recording a 0.31 percent increase compared to the previous week, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday. On a yearly basis, inflation was 2.21 percent higher than the same period last year.

The SPI is compiled by tracking 51 essential goods from 50 markets across 17 cities, giving policymakers a snapshot of short-term price changes.

According to PBS data, out of the 51 essential items monitored, prices of 17 increased, nine declined and 25 remained unchanged.

Key price movements

The weekly increase was largely driven by higher rates of tomatoes (12.62 percent), chicken (4.68 percent), eggs (2.11 percent), onions (1.98 percent), garlic (1.60 percent) and wheat flour (1.44 percent). Prices of gur, pulse mash and firewood also rose.

In contrast, bananas (down 2.52 percent), potatoes (1.65 percent), pulse gram (0.84 percent), pulse moong (0.73 percent) and liquefied petroleum gas (0.36 percent) saw price declines. Smaller drops were recorded in pulse masoor, vegetable ghee, salt and rice.

On an annual basis, the biggest price hikes were recorded in ladies’ sandals (55.62 percent), gas charges for Q1 (29.85 percent), sugar (22.83 percent) and beef (13.54 percent). Other notable increases included vegetable ghee, gur, firewood, cooked beef and diesel. Meanwhile, onions (down 52.10 percent), tomatoes (34.33 percent) and garlic (26.71 percent) led the list of commodities that became cheaper over the year.

The weekly SPI showed the same 0.31 percent rise for both the lowest and highest income groups. Over the year, inflation ranged from 1.46 percent for the highest income segment to 2.22 percent for the lowest.

In the construction sector, the average price of a 50kg bag of cement edged up to Rs1,412, while Sona urea fertiliser remained unchanged at Rs4,405.

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