Rising petrol, chicken, and onion prices push weekly inflation higher: PBS report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), rose by 0.73 per cent in the week ending July 4 compared to the previous week, driven primarily by higher food and fuel costs, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

Despite the weekly uptick, the SPI recorded a year-on-year decline of 2.06 per cent, reflecting an easing in broader price pressures compared to the same period last year.

The SPI tracks the prices of 51 essential goods across 50 markets in 17 cities to provide a snapshot of cost-of-living changes for consumers on a weekly basis.

During the latest week, prices of 18 items (35.29 per cent) increased, six items (11.77 per cent) declined, while 27 items (52.94 per cent) remained unchanged.

Key contributors to the weekly increase included chicken (up 13.05 per cent), onions (11.62 per cent), tomatoes (11.09 per cent), garlic (5.40 per cent), diesel (3.94 per cent), potatoes (3.58 per cent), petrol (3.22 per cent) and sugar (1.27 per cent).

Conversely, notable weekly declines were seen in LPG (down 8.53 per cent), bananas (3.36 per cent), eggs (0.59 per cent), mustard oil (0.37 per cent), moong pulse (0.30 per cent) and gram pulse (0.29 per cent).

On a year-on-year basis, the most significant price drops were recorded for tomatoes (61.42 per cent), onions (53.71 per cent), electricity charges (37.62 per cent), garlic (24.29 per cent), wheat flour (23.62 per cent) and various pulses and vegetables.

However, some items saw steep annual increases, including ladies’ sandals (55.62 per cent), sugar (27.78 per cent), moong pulse (20.59 per cent), powdered milk (16.01 per cent), beef (15.45 per cent) and cooking oil and ghee products.

Inflation remained relatively even across income groups on a weekly basis, with the lowest income group facing a 0.74 per cent rise and the highest income group experiencing a 0.70 per cent increase.

Over the year, however, lower-income households saw greater relief, with SPI falling 3.02 per cent for the lowest quintile, compared to a 0.72 per cent drop for the highest earners.

In key construction inputs, the average price of a 50 kg bag of Sona urea was reported at Rs4,443, showing a 0.20 per cent decrease from last week and 6.58 per cent lower than the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the price of a 50 kg bag of cement dropped to Rs1,412, down 0.61 per cent week-on-week and 0.40 per cent year-on-year. 

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