Pakistan's weekly inflation witnesses 1.36pc increase

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday reported that the weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) witnessed an increase of 1.36 per cent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on January 11.

According to the PBS data, the SPI for the week in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 317.92 points as compared to 313.66 points during the past week.

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 44.16 per cent.

The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to Rs. 17,732, increased by 1.20 percent and went up to 312.23 points from last week’s 308.53 points. The SPI for consumption groups from Rs. 17,732-22,888, Rs. 22,889-29,517; Rs. 29,518-44,175 and above Rs. 44,175, it increased by 1.34 percent, 1.29 percent,1.28 and 1.34 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 21 (41.18%) items increased, 08 (15.68%) items decreased and 22 (43.14%) items remained stable.  The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week  basis included potatoes (5.92%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.84%), sugar (0.43%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.29%), mustard oil (0.26%), cooking oil 5 litre (0.17%), garlic (0.13%) and pulse moong (0.06%).

The items that recorded an increase in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included tomatoes (15.63%), onion (8.94%), chicken (6.42%), electricity charges for q1 (5.11%), eggs (4.31%), match box (2.56%), gur (2.30%), LPG (2.29%), pulse gram (2.11%), energy saver (1.40%), pulse mash (0.83%) and rice irri-6/9 (0.67%).

On a Year-on-Year basis, the items that witnessed a decrease in prices included mustard oil (7.10%), onion (6.68%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (1.67%) and bananas (1.53%).

The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices on year-on-year basis included gas charges for Q1 (1108.59%), tomatoes (155.83%), cigarettes (93.22%), chillies powder (81.74%), garlic (60.43%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), sugar (57.20%), wheat flour (55.26%), gents sandal (53.37%), rice irri-6/9 (51.57%), gur (50.58%) and rice basmati broken (46.91%).