Pakistan’s weekly inflation ticks up ahead of Ramazan as food prices rise

Inflation in Pakistan has edged up after three consecutive weeks of decline, with prices of essential items rising ahead of Ramazan, according to the latest weekly data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The Sensitive Price Indicator showed a weekly increase of 0.09% and a year-on-year rise of 4.84% for the week ending February 4. The SPI index stood at 333.79 points, compared with 333.49 points a week earlier and 318.38 points in the same week last year.

During the week, prices of 13 items declined, 26 remained unchanged, while 12 items recorded increases. Notable declines were seen in wheat flour, eggs, masoor dal, liquefied petroleum gas, gur, powdered salt, chana dal, cooking oil and IRRI rice.

In contrast, prices of tomatoes rose sharply, followed by bananas, onions, garlic and diesel. Increases were also recorded in mash dal, moong dal, mustard oil and mutton.

Income-wise, the SPI declined by 0.13% for households earning up to Rs17,732 per month. However, inflation increased for all other income groups, with weekly rises ranging between 0.08% and 0.11% for households earning above this threshold.

On a year-on-year basis, SPI inflation stood at 4.94% for the lowest income group, rising to 5.93% for households earning between Rs17,733 and Rs22,888, and easing to 3.94% for those earning above Rs44,176 per month.

The SPI tracks weekly price movements of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 major cities.