Weekly SPI falls 0.33%, annual inflation rises 14.47% on higher fuel prices

Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), declined by 0.33% for the week ended May 21, 2026, mainly due to lower prices of chicken, electricity charges, petrol and diesel, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The SPI, which tracks prices of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities, showed a year-on-year increase of 14.47%.

On a weekly basis, chicken prices recorded the largest decline of 8.56%, followed by electricity charges for the first consumption quintile at 6.08%, garlic at 3.53%, pulse moong at 1.45%, and petrol and diesel at 1.21% each.

Prices of LPG fell 0.87%, while pulse gram, bananas, eggs and pulse mash also registered slight declines.

However, tomatoes increased 7.17% during the week, onions rose 6.08%, and wheat flour increased 1.84%. Prices of potatoes, cooked daal, tea prepared, curd and cooking oil also moved higher.

PBS data showed that out of 51 monitored items, prices of 26 items increased, 11 declined and 14 remained unchanged during the week.

On an annual basis, onions recorded the sharpest increase of 68.33%, followed by petrol at 62.24%, diesel at 60.90%, wheat flour at 59.45% and LPG at 50.73%.

Electricity charges for the lowest income group were 43.30% higher compared to the same week last year, while tomatoes rose 34.58%.

Other items posting annual increases included mutton at 15.86%, chilies powder at 15.20%, garlic at 13.39%, beef at 12.92% and bananas at 10.55%.

Among items showing annual declines, potatoes dropped 42.02%, eggs fell 24.47%, pulse gram decreased 21.84% and chicken prices were down 21.79% compared to the corresponding week last year.

The SPI decline varied across consumption groups, with the highest weekly decrease of 0.36% recorded in the fifth quintile, while the combined index declined 0.33%.