Pakistan’s weekly inflation rises sharply after petrol price increase

ISLAMABAD: Weekly inflation in Pakistan recorded a sharp increase of 1.01% on Friday, pushing the annual rate to 9.12% following a massive hike in petrol prices, according to a report by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based weekly inflation increased by 1.01% during the week ended April 2, 2026, for the combined consumption group, the PBS reported.

Weekly surge

During the week, prices of 15 items (29.41%) increased, 9 items (17.65%) decreased, while 27 items (52.94%) remained stable.

Among key commodities, the highest increase was recorded in LPG prices, which surged by 13.28%, followed by eggs (2.23%), chicken (2.13%), pulse mash (1.74%), mutton (1.54%), and fresh milk (0.63%). Prices of curd, beef, pulse masoor, and clothing items such as georgette and shirting also increased.

On the other hand, prices of tomatoes declined by 6.03%, garlic by 3.38%, potatoes by 1.22%, onions by 1.21%, and wheat flour by 0.92%. Prices of bananas, mustard oil, firewood, and sugar also decreased.

Year-on-year increase

On a year-on-year basis, the SPI for the week increased by 9.12% compared to the corresponding week last year.

During this period, major increases were recorded in LPG (53.69%), diesel (29.94%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), petrol (26.17%), and wheat flour (24.85%). Prices of onions, chili powder, mutton, beef, powdered milk, basmati broken rice, and gur also rose.

Meanwhile, prices of potatoes declined by 49.65%, pulse gram by 17.52%, chicken by 16.08%, salt powder by 12.55%, sugar by 11.48%, pulse masoor by 11.32%, garlic by 10.39%, and eggs by 7.27% compared to the same period last year, the PBS reported.

SPI for the week

According to official data, the SPI for the week under review rose to 348.94 points, compared to 345.45 points recorded in the previous week. On a year-on-year basis, the SPI increased by 9.12%.

The SPI for the lowest consumption group (up to Rs17,732) increased by 0.70%, rising to 331.69 points from 329.39 points.

For other consumption groups, the SPI increased as follows:

Rs17,733–22,888: up 0.75%
Rs22,889–29,517: up 0.82%
Rs29,518–44,175: up 0.94%
Above Rs44,175: up 1.15%