ISLAMABAD: According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data released on Friday, inflation as assessed by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) climbed by 0.82 percent from the previous week, owing primarily to a modest increase in perishable food products.
Last week, the SPI increased by 3.68 percent, the most since the shift in the baseline year for calculating the SPI. On June 17, the second highest weekly inflation rate of 3.38 percent was recorded.
The SPI increased 38.63 percent year on year, the biggest rate ever recorded. This is the biggest year-on-year (YoY) rise ever recorded. The government upped the cost of diesel last week while modestly cutting the price of gasoline. Diesel’s impact on prices will be seen in prices next week.
According to PBS data, the price of 33 basic food products increased during the review week versus the previous week.Onions increased 24.92 percent, tomatoes 11.93 percent, pulse moong 5.72 percent, pulse mash 5.28 percent, potatoes 5.03 percent, pulse masoor 4.43 percent, pulse gramme 2.69 percent, eggs 2.44 percent, powdered milk 1.61 percent, gur 1.53 percent, salt 1.46 percent, and garlic 1.30 percent, respectively.
Non-food prices increased by 3.78 percent for diesel and 1.49 percent for LPG. The SPI climbed by 1.16 percent for the lowest income group (those earning less than Rs17,732 per month) and by 0.69 percent for those earning more than Rs44,175.
