ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s short-term inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) recorded a decline of 0.18% during the outgoing week, while easing by 1.52% compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The weekly reading, based on prices of 51 essential items surveyed across 50 markets in 17 cities, showed that 14 items saw a decrease in prices, 12 posted an increase, and 25 remained unchanged. The largest drop was observed in food commodities, particularly eggs and chicken, which became cheaper by 12.27% and 10.75%, respectively. Prices of bananas, onions, potatoes, wheat flour, pulse mash, and pulse moong also recorded a weekly decline.
At the same time, some items witnessed price increases, including electricity charges for the first quarter, which went up by 6.88%. Prices of garlic, LPG, gur, tomatoes, sugar, and fresh milk also inched upward during the week.
On an annual basis, the SPI showed a decrease of 1.52%. Substantial year-on-year reductions were seen in the prices of onions, tomatoes, electricity charges, garlic, and potatoes. Prices of wheat flour, diesel, and several pulses also registered notable declines compared to the same week last year. However, certain goods have seen steep annual increases, including sugar, powdered milk, LPG, beef, vegetable ghee, firewood, and clothing items such as ladies’ sandals, which were up more than 55% year-on-year.
Inflation trends across income groups varied, with the lowest income group experiencing a slight weekly drop of 0.06%, and the highest income group seeing a larger decrease of 0.25%. On a year-on-year basis, the lowest income group benefited from a 2.36% decline in prices, compared to just 0.20% for the highest bracket. The year-on-year SPI changes for all income groups ranged between 3.31% and 0.20%.
The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs4,443 per 50kg bag, down 0.17% from the previous week and 6.27% from the same period last year. Cement prices averaged Rs1,412 per 50kg bag, registering a weekly decline of 0.20% but a yearly increase of 10.72%.
