Pakistan’s weekly SPI turns negative for first time in seven years

For the first time in nearly seven years, Pakistan’s Weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI) recorded a year-on-year decline, registering a drop of 0.9% for the period ending March 6, 2025.

The decline was primarily driven by falling prices of key essential commodities. Significant decreases were observed in the prices of onions (-6%), branded tea (-4%), garlic (-4%), tomatoes (-4%), gram pulse (-3%), mash pulse (-3%), potatoes (-3%), diesel (-2%), masoor pulse (-2%), and petrol (-0.24%).

On a week-on-week basis, the SPI registered a marginal decline of 0.09%, reflecting a slight easing of price pressures.

The downturn in the SPI suggests a rare instance of deflationary movement in essential consumer goods, providing temporary relief to households amid persistent inflationary trends in recent years. However, analysts caution that sustained declines would depend on broader economic stability and policy measures impacting supply chains and energy prices.