ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), recorded a weekly decline of 0.83% and an annual decrease of 2.81% for the week ending April 10, 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The drop was primarily attributed to falling prices of essential food items, with significant reductions noted in garlic (14.73%), tomatoes (12.82%), onions (11.40%), chicken (8.05%), eggs (7.40%), bananas (6.72%), wheat flour (4.74%) and potatoes (2.33%). Despite the overall decline, some commodities witnessed modest price increases, including pulse gram, LPG, beef, curd, long cloth, and gur, among others.
Out of the 51 items monitored, prices of 14 items increased, 11 decreased, while 26 remained unchanged during the week.
On a year-on-year basis, substantial price declines were seen in onions (71.17%), wheat flour (34.87%), tomatoes (31.07%), chilies powder (20%), and electricity charges for Q1 (18.92%), among others. Conversely, certain items became costlier compared to the same period last year, notably ladies’ sandals (55.62%), pulse moong (27.55%), powdered milk (25.74%), beef (21.32%), and sugar (18.77%).
The impact of inflation varied across income groups. The lowest income group saw a weekly decline of 0.98% in inflation, compared to a 0.75% decrease for the highest income group. Over the year, the lowest income group experienced a 3.26% fall in the SPI, while the highest income group saw a 2.16% decrease.
Among key industrial inputs, the average price of a 50 kg bag of Sona urea declined to Rs4,510, down 0.21% from the previous week and 6.45% year-on-year. In contrast, the average cement price rose to Rs1,402 per 50 kg bag, marking a weekly increase of 0.65% and an annual surge of 14.87%.
The SPI is compiled weekly by the PBS to track changes in the prices of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities, offering a timely snapshot of short-term inflation trends.
