ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s short-term inflation rose slightly by 0.27 per cent during the week ending June 20, while showing a year-on-year decline of 2.06 per cent, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The Weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks the cost of essential goods, showed that prices of 23 out of 51 items monitored increased, 8 declined, and 20 remained unchanged compared to the previous week.
Among the items that saw notable weekly increases were liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which surged 14.86 per cent, followed by potatoes (up 3.75 per cent), diesel (3.10 per cent), gur (2.25 per cent), chicken (2.17 per cent), sugar (2.13 per cent), petrol (1.88 per cent), mustard oil (1.12 per cent), and powdered milk (0.97 per cent). Smaller price increases were also recorded for basmati broken rice, cooked lentils, and prepared tea.
Conversely, egg prices dropped by 9.53 per cent, tomatoes fell 5.62 per cent, garlic dipped 1.03 per cent, and slight decreases were observed in items like gram pulse, vegetable ghee, cooking oil, bananas, and firewood.
On an annual basis, significant declines were recorded in the prices of onions (down 63.22 per cent), tomatoes (56.11 per cent), electricity charges for the first quarter (41.63 per cent), garlic (32.58 per cent), and several pulses and grains.
However, several items still posted sharp year-on-year increases. Prices of ladies’ sandals surged 55.62 per cent, moong pulse rose 28.90 per cent, sugar increased by 26.19 per cent, and powdered milk by 25.93 per cent. LPG prices were also up 21.77 per cent compared to last year, alongside hikes in eggs, beef, ghee, bananas, and firewood.
Inflation varied across income groups. The lowest income group recorded a marginal weekly rise of 0.05 per cent, while the highest income group saw an increase of 0.42 per cent. Year-on-year, SPI for the lowest income group declined by 3.08 per cent and by 0.63 per cent for the highest income group.
The report also showed that the average price of a 50kg bag of Sona urea fertiliser fell slightly by 0.11 per cent week-on-week to Rs4,450, marking a 6.27 per cent drop compared to the same period last year. In contrast, the average cement price rose to Rs1,415 per 50kg bag, up 0.33 per cent on the week and 11.52 per cent year-on-year.
PBS compiles the SPI weekly, monitoring prices of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 major cities to assess short-term inflation trends.
