ISLAMABAD: In the week ending January 25, 2024, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) reported a year-on-year increase of 43.79 percent, as disclosed by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday. This marks the tenth consecutive week with inflation surpassing 40 percent, though the current figure represents a slight dip from the previous week’s 44.64 percent.
The surge in inflation is primarily attributed to surging prices in gas charges for Q1 (1108.59 percent), tomatoes (133.36 percent), wheat flour (62.36 percent), sugar (58.52 percent), eggs (46.80 percent), and rice (43.48 percent).
On the contrary, the weekly SPI witnessed a marginal decline of 0.14 percent compared to the preceding week. This reduction is attributed to decreases in the prices of tomatoes (14.14 percent), potatoes (5.06 percent), onions (1.64 percent), bananas (0.81 percent), pulse gram (0.33 percent), garlic (0.26 percent), and mustard oil (0.17 percent).
Out of 51 essential items monitored for SPI, 15 (29.41 percent) experienced price increases, 13 (25.49 percent) observed decreases, and 23 (45.10 percent) remained stable during the week.
The overall weekly inflation measured by the SPI, representing combined consumption groups, saw a 0.14 percent decrease for the week ending January 25, reaching 318.55 points compared to 319.00 points the previous week. On a year-on-year basis, the SPI for the combined consumption group increased by 43.79 percent.
Breaking down consumption groups by income range, the SPI for the lowest group (up to Rs. 17,732) decreased by 0.33 percent.
In terms of specific items, tomatoes (14.14 percent), potatoes (5.06 percent), onions (1.64 percent), tea packet (1.19 percent), bananas (0.81 percent), pulse gram (0.33 percent), garlic (0.26 percent), and mustard oil (0.17 percent) recorded decreases in average prices on a week-on-week basis.
Conversely, chicken (3.31 percent), cooked daal (1.32 percent), gur (0.98 percent), tea prepared (0.92 percent), pulse moong (0.80 percent), energy saver (0.54 percent), pulse mash & eggs (0.43 percent each), LPG (0.28 percent), beef (0.25 percent), wheat flour (0.16 percent), and firewood (0.03 percent) observed increases in their average prices.
On a year-on-year basis, onions (8.64 percent), mustard oil (7.51 percent), bananas (6.52 percent), and vegetable ghee 1 kg (1.33 percent) witnessed decreases in prices. Meanwhile, gas charges for Q1 (1108.59 percent), tomatoes (133.36 percent), cigarettes (93.22 percent), chilies powder (81.74 percent), wheat flour (62.36 percent), sugar (58.52 percent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 percent), garlic (54.66 percent), gents sandal (53.37 percent), gur (52.29 percent), eggs (46.80 percent), and rice irri-6/9 (43.48 percent) saw an increase in their average prices on a year-on-year basis.
