Weekly inflation rises 1.16% as SPI up 5.19% year-on-year

The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) recorded a week-on-week increase of 1.16% for the week ending February 19, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), reflecting higher prices for several essential commodities.

On a week-on-week basis, PBS data showed sharp increases in the prices of bananas by 16.05%, electricity charges for Q1 by 15.41%, garlic by 5.86%, chicken by 5.49%, onions by 3.83%, tomatoes by 3.82%, diesel by 2.69%, petrol by 1.93%, beef by 1.03%, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 0.75%, mutton by 0.69%, and long cloth by 0.28%.

During the same period, prices declined for a number of items, with eggs falling by 11.78%, potatoes by 2.24%, wheat flour by 2.02%, pulse masoor by 1.47%, sugar by 0.96%, vegetable ghee (2.5 kg) by 0.72%, pulse gram by 0.58%, cooking oil (5 litre) by 0.19%, gur by 0.16%, vegetable ghee (1 kg) by 0.11%, IRRI-6/9 rice by 0.08%, and mustard oil by 0.07%.

Out of a total basket of 51 items, prices of 17 items, or 33.33%, increased during the week, prices of 12 items, or 23.53%, declined, while prices of the remaining 22 items, representing 43.14% of the basket, remained unchanged.

On a year-on-year basis, the SPI increased by 5.19%. Significant annual increases were recorded in tomatoes by 85.20%, wheat flour by 31.33%, gas charges for Q1 by 29.85%, electricity charges for Q1 by 17.33%, bananas by 15.83%, chilli powder by 15.20%, beef by 13.28%, LPG by 12.22%, firewood by 11.40%, powdered milk by 9.89%, shirting by 9.11%, mutton by 8.77%, and gur by 8.63%.

In contrast, year-on-year declines were observed in potatoes by 45.43%, garlic by 27.51%, pulse gram by 23.30%, chicken by 19.36%, onions by 18.10%, tea (Lipton) by 13.95%, salt powder by 12.52%, pulse masoor by 12.33%, eggs by 8.54%, pulse mash by 5.08%, mustard oil by 2.13%, sugar by 1.43%, and pulse moong by 1.40%.

The SPI for consumption groups with monthly income up to Rs17,732 increased by 1.11% to 325.80 points, compared with 322.23 points in the previous week. For the income group of Rs17,732 to Rs22,888, the index rose by 1.50% to 327.44 points, while the group earning Rs22,889 to Rs29,517 recorded a 1.03% increase to 347.84 points.

The SPI for households earning between Rs29,518 and Rs44,175 increased by 0.92% to 334.17 points, while the highest income group of Rs44,175 and above saw the index rise by 0.78% to 332.80 points during the week.