Pakistan: Weekly inflation witnesses 30 percent rise compared to last year

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by over 30 percent in comparison to last year amid a rise in the prices of food and a couple of fuel items, Dawn reported.

The weekly inflation has been measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI).

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) in its weekly report on the movement in prices of 51 essential items, collected from 50 markets in 17 major cities around the country said that the year-on-year (YOY) shows a rise of 30.60 percent.

"The year-on-year (YoY) trend depicts an increase of 30.60pc," Dawn cited the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics as saying in its weekly report.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in its report said that the Sensitive Price Index has been witnessing a rise in double digits since 2021, with minor variations throughout FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23.

The Sensitive Price Index is calculated on weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at short intervals, according to Dawn.

As per the news report, the prices are estimated to further increase in the coming week considering the recent government decision to increase prices of wheat flour, sugar, and ghee by 25 to 62 percent for sale through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) to decrease the size of untargeted food subsidies. The price index for the week ending on January 5, 2023, recorded a rise of around 1.1 percent which was accompanied by a massive rise in the prices of certain commodities. An increase of 501 percent was witnessed in the prices of onion, and an 82.5 percent rise in the price of chicken. Wheat flour and tea were also reported costlier by over 45 percent and 65.41 percent respectively in comparison with the same period last year.

The prices of diesel were reported to have increased by around 61 percent. Prices of eggs have gone up by 50.51 percent while powdered salt rose by 49.50 percent, petrol price increased by 48.21 percent, pulse moong witnessed a rise of 47 percent, price of broken basmati rice increased by 46 percent, according to Dawn. Meanwhile, the price of powdered chilli has reduced by 23 percent while electricity costs witnessed a drop of 14 percent, mainly due to the adjustments in the fuel cost base. As per the Dawn report, the data witnessed a massive variance of essential commodities in four provinces. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics report also revealed that the rise in the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) had spread across all income groups. However, the lower and middle-income groups were the most affected, as per the news report.

As of January 5, the SPI increased by 33 percent for the expenditure group between Rs 29,500 to Rs 44,175 per month. The SPI rose by 32 percent for the Rs 22,900-29,500 group and about 30 percent rose for the income group spending under Rs 22,900 per month group. The increase was mostly similar, between 1 percent to 1.2 percent on a week-on-week basis. The SPI week-on-week rose by 1.09 percent during this week. A major increase was witnessed in the prices of food. The price of chicken rose by 16.09 percent, broken Basmati rice by 5.16 percent, and wheat flour by 4.87 percent, according to Dawn.

An increase in price was witnessed in bananas by 2.97 percent, onions by 2.65 percent, bread by 1.24 percent, powdered salt by 1.07 percent, and pulse moong by 1.02 percent.

Meanwhile, prices of potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, LPG, vegetable ghee, cooking oil, sugar, and pulse masoor have however gone down from 0.05 to 4.61 percent.

During the week, prices of 23 out of 51 items increased while prices of nine witnessed a drop, and prices of 19 items remained stable, as per the news report. Furthermore, prices of 23 out of 51 items increased, nine items decreased and 19 items remained stable.

( With inputs from ANI )

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