Weekly inflation falls 0.98%, but rises 13.52% year-on-year

Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), declined by 0.98% for the week ended July 2, 2026, mainly due to a sharp fall in petrol, diesel and LPG prices, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The SPI, which tracks 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities, stood at 354.24 for the combined consumption group, compared with 357.76 on June 18, 2026. However, on a year-on-year basis, SPI remained 13.52% higher compared with the corresponding week of last year.

The weekly decline was led by petrol, which fell 19.77%, followed by diesel at 17.73% and LPG at 12.60%. Food items that recorded declines included chicken, down 1.97%, bananas 1.44%, pulse moong 1.29%, pulse mash 0.84%, garlic 0.63%, pulse gram 0.23%, and mustard oil and sugar 0.21% each.

Despite the overall decline in SPI, several food items posted sharp increases during the week. Tomato prices rose 125.40%, followed by onions at 10.72%, potatoes 10.06%, eggs 8.32% and wheat flour 5.08%.

Other weekly increases were recorded in match boxes at 0.96%, shirting 0.87%, washing soap 0.63%, fresh milk 0.49%, bread 0.47%, rice IRRI-6/9 0.45% and cigarettes 0.23%.

During the week, prices of 23 out of 51 items, or 45.10%, increased. Prices of 11 items, or 21.57%, decreased, while 17 items, or 33.33%, remained unchanged.

On a year-on-year basis, tomatoes recorded the highest increase at 238.72%, followed by onions at 80.96%, wheat flour 68.47%, electricity charges for Q1 49.14%, LPG 44.08% and gas charges for Q1 29.85%.

Other major annual increases included gents sponge chappal at 16.69%, mutton 16.06%, chilies powder 15.20%, beef 12.89%, bananas 10.53% and bread 9.18%.

Items that became cheaper compared with the same week last year included potatoes, down 36.60%, pulse gram 22.11%, sugar 19.42%, salt powder 14.09%, pulse masoor 12.32%, eggs 9.30%, chicken 6.96% and pulse moong 6.06%.

The impact of weekly inflation varied across income groups. The lowest consumption quintile, with monthly expenditure up to Rs17,732, saw SPI rise 1.42% week-on-week and 14.13% year-on-year.

The second quintile, with expenditure between Rs17,733 and Rs22,888, recorded a weekly increase of 0.86% and annual increase of 16.11%, the highest year-on-year rise among all groups.

The third quintile posted a 0.28% weekly increase and 13.67% annual rise, while the fourth quintile saw SPI decline 0.32% week-on-week but rise 12.77% year-on-year.

The highest consumption quintile, with monthly expenditure above Rs44,175, recorded the largest weekly decline at 2.00%, while its year-on-year increase stood at 11.68%.

The PBS data showed that the combined SPI decline was largely driven by lower fuel prices, while food inflationary pressures persisted in perishable items such as tomatoes, onions and potatoes, along with wheat flour and eggs.