Pakistan’s short-term inflation rose by 0.57 percent in the week ended October 8, with wheat flour, chicken and pulses among the items that became more expensive, according to official data released on Friday.
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks the prices of essential goods, increased 11.97 percent compared with the same week last year, adding to the pressure on household budgets.
Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed that wheat flour prices rose 5.69 percent during the week, while chicken became 4.93 percent more expensive. Gram pulses recorded a 3.99 percent increase, while petrol and tomatoes each rose 2.40 percent.
Prices also increased for masoor pulses by 1.29 percent, prepared tea by 1.08 percent, cooked daal by 0.98 percent and mash pulses by 0.91 percent. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices went up 0.57 percent.
However, some items became cheaper. Banana prices fell 2.81 percent, while diesel declined 1.37 percent. Potato prices dropped 0.89 percent, sugar fell 0.37 percent and gur, or unrefined sugar, became 0.19 percent cheaper. Moong pulses recorded a marginal decline of 0.03 percent.
Of the 51 essential items monitored by the PBS, prices of 20 increased during the week, while six fell. The remaining 25 items recorded no change.
Onions, LPG and electricity remain costlier than last year
On a yearly basis, onions recorded the sharpest increase among the listed items, with prices up 100.24 percent. LPG rose 68.55 percent, while electricity charges for the first quarter increased 58.59 percent.
Petrol prices were 47.52 percent higher than a year earlier, while diesel rose 42.52 percent. Wheat flour also remained significantly more expensive, recording a 32.60 percent annual increase.
Other items with higher prices included powdered chillies, up 15.55 percent, mutton, up 15.02 percent, and beef, up 12.60 percent. Chicken prices increased 9.44 percent, while plain bread and curd became 8.99 percent and 8.08 percent more expensive, respectively.
Several food items, however, were cheaper than a year ago. Potato prices fell 39.51 percent, followed by tomatoes at 37.07 percent and sugar at 22.44 percent. Eggs became 18.88 percent cheaper, while powdered salt prices declined 14.81 percent.
Masoor pulses, gur and moong pulses also recorded annual price drops of 9.79 percent, 8.59 percent and 8.37 percent, respectively.
Urea and cement prices rise
The PBS data also showed an increase in the prices of key agricultural and construction materials.
The average price of a 50-kilogram bag of Sona urea stood at Rs4,780, up 0.45 percent from the previous week and 8.88 percent from the same period last year.
Cement prices also increased. A 50-kilogram bag averaged Rs1,596, marking a 1.53 percent weekly rise and a 14.38 percent increase compared with a year earlier.
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