The weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), rose by 0.05% for the combined consumption groups during the week ending August 7, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The SPI stood at 328.12 points, up from 327.94 points last week. Compared to the same week last year, inflation for the combined group increased by 1.73%. The SPI, based on 2015-16 prices, monitors 51 essential items across 17 urban centres.
For the lowest income group (up to Rs 17,732), the SPI rose by 0.30%, from 316.01 to 316.97 points. Increases were also recorded for income brackets of Rs 17,733–22,888 (0.26%), Rs 22,889–29,517 (0.19%), and Rs 29,518–44,175 (0.14%). The highest income group (above Rs 44,175) saw a marginal decline of 0.06%.
Out of 51 items, prices of 12 rose (23.53%), 12 fell (23.53%), and 27 (52.94%) remained unchanged.
Major weekly increases were seen in onions (16.53%), tomatoes (10.17%), chicken (4.12%), eggs (1.32%), diesel (0.52%), and pulse masoor (0.34%). Notable declines were recorded in LPG (3.21%), petrol (2.75%), bananas (1.56%), pulse moong (1.09%), and potatoes (0.44%).
On a year-on-year basis, significant price hikes were noted in ladies’ sandals (55.62%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), sugar (21.75%), beef (14.15%), and vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (12.20%). In contrast, onions (-55.34%), garlic (-26.43%), pulse mash (-22.99%), wheat flour (-22.01%), and tomatoes (-21.42%) saw sharp drops in prices.
