Pakistan’s Sensitive Price Indicator increased 0.21pc in the week ended Oct. 1, with chicken, garlic and pulses among the items that became more expensive.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s weekly inflation increased 0.21% in the week ended Oct. 1, while the annual inflation rate measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) reached 11.53%, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The SPI, which tracks short-term changes in the prices of essential commodities, showed that prices of 20 of the 51 items in its basket increased during the week, while 10 recorded declines.
Chicken prices registered the largest weekly increase, rising 7.25%. Garlic prices increased 1.85%, followed by gram pulse at 1.30%, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at 1.17%, eggs at 0.72% and rice at 0.55%.
Prices of onions, washing soap and wheat flour also increased during the week, according to the PBS report.
Several essential commodities, however, became cheaper. Diesel prices declined 3.43% during the week, while banana prices fell 1.52% and sugar prices decreased 1.05%. Potato prices dropped 0.96%, while petrol prices declined 0.65%.
On a year-on-year basis, onion prices recorded the sharpest increase, rising 114.20%. LPG prices were 66.59% higher than a year earlier, while electricity tariffs increased 58.59%.
Diesel prices were 44.50% higher year-on-year, while petrol prices rose 44.05%. Wheat flour prices also increased significantly, climbing 32.65% compared with the same week a year earlier.
The annual comparison also showed substantial declines in the prices of some food items. Tomato prices fell 45.52% year-on-year, while potato prices decreased 39.54%.
Sugar prices were 21.95% lower than a year earlier, while egg prices declined 17.47%, according to the PBS data.
The latest SPI figures reflect mixed price movements across essential commodities, with several food and energy-related items recording significant annual increases despite weekly declines in some major fuel and food prices.
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