Pakistan inflation in May is up 3.5pc year-on-year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.5 per cent year-on-year in May, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, higher than the Ministry of Finance’s expectations for inflation to stay within the 1.5 – 2 per cent range in the month.

Read more: Pakistan’s inflation seen picking up in May after record lows 

In April, the CPI was recorded at 0.3 per cent, while it stood at 11.8 per cent in 2024.

The latest PBS data means the CPI is moving upwards once again after witnessing a decline for 16 months consecutively after this started in January 2024.

“On month-on-month basis, it decreased by 0.2 per cent in May 2025 as compared to a decrease of 0.8 per cent in the previous month and a decrease of 3.2 per cent in May 2024, the PBS says.

URBAN INFLATION

The PBS says the urban inflation (urban CPI) jumped up to 3.5 per cent on year-on-year basis in May as compared to 0.5 per cent of the previous month and 14.3 per cent in May 2024.

However, it increased to 0.1 per cent in May on month-on-month basis as compared to a decrease of 0.7 per cent in the previous and a decrease of 2.8 per cent in May 2024.

RURAL INFLATION

As far as the rural inflation is concerned, the CPI increased to 3.4 per cent on year-on-year basis in May as compared to a decrease of 0.1 in the previous month and 8.2 per cent in May 2024.

But a month-on-month comparison shows a decreased of 0.5 per cent as compared to a 1.0 per cent decline in the previous month and a decrease of 3.9 per cent in May 2024.