Rising weekly inflation: tomatoes, onions prices up by 25%

WEB DESK: In the week ending November 2, 2023, Pakistan’s Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group saw a 0.71 per cent increase compared to the previous week.

This marks a significant 29.88 per cent rise in SPI compared to the same period last year, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The combined index, as per PBS data, stood at 279.08, up from 277.11 on October 26, 2023, and considerably higher than the 214.88 recorded on November 3, 2022.

Among the 51 items surveyed, the prices of 12 items rose, 14 items saw a decrease, and 25 items remained stable.

Notable increases were observed in the prices of tomatoes (25.58 per cent), onions (25.25 per cent), chicken (10.79 per cent), potatoes (1.61 per cent), tea lipton (1.58 per cent), eggs (1.30 per cent), and garlic (0.50 per cent).

Conversely, Gur (2.66 per cent), Banana (1.78 per cent), and Cooking Oil 5 Litres (1.62 per cent) experienced significant price drops.

It’s worth mentioning that these changes occurred after two consecutive weeks of SPI decline. The weekly SPI percentage change across different income groups ranged from 0.64 per cent to 0.86 per cent.

Read more: Pakistan’s headline inflation drops below 27% in October

In terms of yearly comparisons, SPI increased across all income segments, ranging from 28.60 per cent to 30.22 per cent.

Specifically, the lowest-income group saw a 28.60 per cent increase in yearly SPI, while the highest-income group recorded a 29.91 per cent rise.

Additionally, the average price of Sona urea rose to Rs3,847 per 50 kg bag, marking a 1.66 per cent increase from the previous week and a significant 55.4 per cent surge from last year.

Meanwhile, the average cement price was Rs1,192 per 50 kg bag, showing a slight decrease of 0.27 per cent from the previous week but a notable 14.81 per cent increase from last year’s prices.