A man selling vegetables waits for customers at his makeshift stall at the Empress Market in Karachi. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
After three weeks of decline, inflation has started to rise again in the country ahead of Ramazan. During the latest week, prices of essential daily-use items increased by 0.09% on a weekly basis and 4.84% on a year-on-year basis.
According to the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) report released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI for consumers stood at 333.79 points in the week ending February 4, compared to 333.49 points in the previous week and 318.38 points in the same week last year.
During the week under review, prices of 13 essential items declined, 26 items remained stable, while 12 items recorded an increase. Prices of wheat flour fell by 2.89%, eggs by 2.86%, masoor dal by 1.26%, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 0.88%, gur (jaggery) by 0.73%, powdered salt by 0.59%, chana dal by 0.58%, five-litre cooking oil by 0.52%, and IRRI rice by 0.36%.
On the other hand, prices of tomatoes surged by 12.78%, bananas by 8.16%, onions by 7.27%, garlic by 5.45%, diesel by 4.35%, mash dal by 2.34%, moong dal by 0.35%, mustard oil by 0.30%, and mutton by 0.24%.
For the lowest income group earning up to Rs17,732 per month, the SPI declined by 0.13% on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, for income groups earning Rs17,733-22,888, Rs22,889-29,517, Rs29,518-44,175, and above Rs44,175 per month, the SPI increased by 0.11%, 0.08%, 0.08%, and 0.09%, respectively.
The SPI is calculated based on price fluctuations of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 major cities of the country.
The data further shows that on a year-on-year basis, inflation measured through the SPI rose to 4.94% for households earning up to Rs17,732 per month, 5.93% for those earning Rs17,733-22,888, 5.27% for Rs22,889-29,517, 4.76% for Rs29,518-44,175, and 3.94% for households earning above Rs44,176 per month.
