Lower electricity, chicken prices lead decline in short-term inflation: PBS report 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation saw a slight drop in the week ending May 29, with prices falling for key essentials such as electricity, chicken and cooking gas, according to official data released on Friday.

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which measures weekly price changes in a fixed basket of goods, declined by 0.81 per cent compared to the previous week, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said. However, on a year-on-year basis, the SPI recorded a modest increase of 0.41 per cent.

During the latest week, prices of 14 out of 51 monitored items went up, 10 declined, and 27 remained unchanged.

The weekly drop was mainly driven by a sharp 10.10 per cent reduction in electricity charges. Chicken prices also tumbled by 8.51 per cent, while LPG became cheaper by 2.67 per cent. Minor declines were also noted in powdered milk, vegetable ghee, wheat flour, sugar, garlic and a few pulses.

Conversely, prices of tomatoes surged by 4.54 per cent, followed by increases in potatoes (2.94 per cent), eggs (2.19 per cent), onions (2.17 per cent), and bananas (0.73 per cent). A gradual uptick was also seen in items like gur, mustard oil, cigarettes and various pulses.

Over the past year, prices of several food items and household essentials have seen noticeable shifts. Chicken and eggs were both up by over 30 per cent, while powdered milk rose nearly 24 per cent. On the other hand, onion prices plunged more than 55 per cent year-on-year, electricity charges dropped over 36 per cent, and potatoes and garlic became significantly cheaper.

The SPI is compiled by the PBS every week based on prices collected from 50 markets in 17 cities. It tracks short-term price trends in essential items such as food, energy and household goods, offering a snapshot of inflation’s impact on everyday consumers. 

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