Pakistan’s weekly inflation eased during the week ended July 2 as a sharp decline in fuel prices helped reduce the overall cost of essential goods, although a steep rise in vegetable prices continued to weigh on household budgets.
Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed that the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks short-term inflation, fell by 0.98 percent compared with the previous week.
The biggest relief came from lower energy costs. Petrol prices dropped 19.77 percent during the week, while diesel became 17.73 percent cheaper. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices also declined 12.60 percent.
Among food items, chicken prices fell 1.97 percent, followed by bananas at 1.44 percent. Prices of pulse moong, pulse mash, garlic, pulse gram, mustard oil and sugar also edged lower.
Despite the overall decline in the SPI, several everyday food items became more expensive.
Tomato prices surged 125.40 percent in just one week, marking the sharpest increase among all tracked items. Onion prices climbed 10.72 percent, while potatoes rose 10.06 percent. Eggs became 8.32 percent more expensive and wheat flour increased 5.08 percent.
Smaller increases were also recorded in matchboxes, shirting, washing soap, fresh milk, bread, IRRI rice and cigarettes.
Out of the 51 essential commodities monitored by the PBS, prices of 23 items increased during the week, 11 declined and 17 remained unchanged.
Compared with the same week last year, the SPI was up 13.52 percent, showing that the cost of many essential goods remains significantly higher despite the weekly decline.
Tomatoes recorded the biggest annual increase at 238.72 percent, followed by onions at 80.96 percent and wheat flour at 68.47 percent. Electricity charges for the first quarter were up 49.14 percent, while LPG and gas charges increased 44.08 percent and 29.85 percent, respectively.
Prices of mutton, beef, bananas, bread, chilli powder and men’s sponge slippers also remained noticeably higher than a year earlier.
Some products, however, were cheaper than last year. Potato prices were down 36.60 percent, followed by pulse gram at 22.11 percent and sugar at 19.42 percent. Salt powder, pulse masoor, eggs, chicken and pulse moong also posted annual declines.
The PBS also reported that the average price of Sona urea stood at Rs4,647 per 50 kilogram bag, down 0.31 percent from the previous week but 4.82 percent higher than a year ago.
The average price of a 50 kilogram cement bag was Rs1,499, down 0.23 percent from the previous week but 6.81 percent higher than the same period last year.
The SPI measures weekly price movements of 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 cities and is used by policymakers to monitor short-term inflation trends across the country.
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