Inflation surveys to be conducted separately in urban, rural areas: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD: Former finance minister Asad Umar revealed on Wednesday that the federal government will conduct separate surveys for urban and rural areas to measure the inflation rate, ARY News reported.

This, he said, while chairing a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs.

Umar said that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has changed the calendar year of inflation to 2015-16. The chairman predicted that the inflation rate is likely to be increased on a weekly basis in the next five months.

“We had summoned a report from Competition Commission of Pakistan over the hike of rates in five sectors, which spotlights the monopoly in the prices of flour and sugar,” he said.

Later, Umar announced that the federal government will conduct surveys in urban and rural areas separately to observe the fluctuations in the inflation rate.