The Sensitive Price Index (SPI)-based inflation declined by 0.35 per cent for the week ending March 20, 2025, driven primarily by a drop in prices of key food items including tomatoes, onions, and eggs, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The SPI fell to 319.62 points from 320.75 in the previous week. Tomatoes recorded a 7.08 per cent decline, onions dropped 6.07 per cent, while the prices of eggs and sugar decreased by 4.64 per cent and 0.87 per cent respectively.
On a year-on-year basis, SPI showed a 1.20 per cent decline. Significant reductions were noted in the prices of onions (67.67 per cent), wheat flour (35.58 per cent), tomatoes (29.45 per cent), chili powder (20.00 per cent), electricity charges for the first quarter (18.92 per cent), and tea (16.98 per cent).
Conversely, the steepest annual increases were seen in ladies’ sandals (75.09 per cent), moong pulse (26.96 per cent), powdered milk (25.75 per cent), beef (21.01 per cent), sugar (18.65 per cent), chicken (18.23 per cent), and pulse gram (17.83 per cent).
Out of 51 items tracked by the PBS, prices of 11 items rose, 18 items decreased, and 22 remained unchanged during the week under review.
The SPI recorded a decline across all income groups. For the lowest income group (up to Rs17,732), inflation fell by 0.39 per cent, while the highest income group (above Rs44,175) saw a 0.36 per cent decrease.
Other items showing price increases included lawn fabric (2.90 per cent), LPG (1.53 per cent), bananas (1.45 per cent), long cloth (1.23 per cent), and bread (0.55 per cent).
Meanwhile, garlic prices dropped by 5.59 per cent, farm chicken by 4.64 per cent, potatoes by 2.50 per cent, and tea (Lipton Yellow Label) by 1.30 per cent. Prices of pulses, sugar, mustard oil, gur, and wheat flour also declined modestly during the week.
