Tomatoes, eggs, flour get costlier despite decline in weekly inflation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s weekly inflation fell by 0.46 per cent in the week ended November 12, as lower petroleum prices offset increases in the cost of essential food items, official data showed on Friday.

However, inflation remained elevated at 11.21 per cent year-on-year, reflecting continued pressure on household budgets.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), prices of 19 essential commodities increased during the week, while nine registered a decline and 23 remained unchanged.

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks short-term price movements, fell to 372.90 points during the week under review, down 0.46 per cent from the preceding week.

The PBS collected prices of 51 essential commodities from 50 markets in 17 cities across the country.

Among food items, tomatoes recorded the steepest weekly increase, rising 12.06 per cent, followed by eggs, which became 5.98 per cent more expensive. Potato prices increased 2.42 per cent, garlic 1.76 per cent and chicken 1.32 per cent.

Flour prices rose 0.94 per cent, while lentils (masoor) became 0.64 per cent more expensive. Beef prices increased 0.47 per cent and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) 0.30 per cent.

In contrast, petrol prices fell 7.42 per cent and diesel 6.10 per cent during the week, helping bring down the overall inflation rate.

Among other commodities, onion prices declined 1.70 per cent, bananas 1.03 per cent, gur 0.59 per cent and sugar 0.43 per cent. Prices of powdered milk, mung beans and gram pulses also recorded marginal decreases.

The average price of petrol stood at Rs337.22 per litre, while diesel averaged Rs366.33 per litre, the PBS data showed.

The average price of sugar was recorded at Rs139.95 per kilogramme, while a 20kg flour bag cost Rs2,968.92 on average. Eggs were priced at Rs272.89 per dozen.

Year-on-year price trends

Despite the weekly decline, several essential commodities recorded substantial increases over the past year.

LPG registered the steepest annual increase of 111.35 per cent, followed by tomatoes at 78.94 per cent, electricity tariffs at 52.38 per cent and flour at 36.14 per cent.

Diesel prices rose 30.77 per cent year-on-year, while petrol became 26.23 per cent more expensive. Onion prices increased 19.67 per cent, mutton 14.67 per cent, beef 11.30 per cent and chicken 10.98 per cent.

The average price of an 11.67kg LPG cylinder climbed to Rs6,517.08, compared with Rs3,083.59 during the corresponding period last year.

Electricity tariffs under the first consumption slab also increased 52.38 per cent over the year, with the per-unit rate rising from Rs4.83 to Rs7.36.

However, some commodities became cheaper compared with the same period last year.

Potato prices fell 36.41 per cent, sugar 24.54 per cent and eggs 23.29 per cent. Powdered salt became 12.51 per cent cheaper, while masoor lentils declined 7.21 per cent, mung beans 6.83 per cent, gur 6.63 per cent and bananas 3.35 per cent.

The latest figures indicate that lower fuel prices helped ease weekly inflation, but steep annual increases in LPG, electricity, flour and other essential commodities continue to weigh on household spending.