Pakistan’s short-term inflation edged higher in the week ended August 6, with food prices driving much of the increase, official data showed on Friday.
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks the prices of essential goods, rose 0.28 percent during the week, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The weekly increase was led by a sharp rise in onion and chicken prices. Onion prices jumped 10.14 percent, while chicken became 9.19 percent more expensive. Pulse gram prices rose 2.43 percent, followed by powdered chillies at 1.01 percent and mustard oil at 0.99 percent.
Prices of Lipton tea increased 0.57 percent, while wheat flour rose 0.52 percent. Vegetable ghee, firewood and washing soap also recorded smaller increases.
These gains were partly offset by lower prices of several items. Tomato prices fell 6.82 percent, LPG dropped 1.90 percent and diesel declined 1.66 percent. Banana prices fell 1.20 percent, while petrol became 0.63 percent cheaper.
Sugar prices also decreased 0.51 percent, while plain bread fell 0.29 percent. Eggs and potatoes each recorded a 0.09 percent decline.
Of the 51 items monitored under the SPI, prices of 20 items increased during the week, while nine declined. The remaining 22 items remained unchanged.
Despite the modest weekly rise, short-term inflation remained elevated on an annual basis. The SPI increased 9.29 percent year-on-year during the week.
Tomatoes recorded the largest annual increase, with prices up 178.03 percent. Onion prices were 84.65 percent higher than a year earlier, while wheat flour rose 80.02 percent.
LPG prices increased 53.83 percent year-on-year, followed by diesel at 34.44 percent and petrol at 25.97 percent. Other notable increases were recorded in gents’ sponge chappals, powdered chillies, mutton, bananas, beef and plain bread.
However, some essential items were cheaper than a year ago. Potato prices dropped 30.65 percent, while pulse gram fell 17.86 percent and sugar declined 17.60 percent. Chicken prices were also 15.65 percent lower than last year.
Among key inputs, the average price of a 50kg bag of Sona urea rose 0.43 percent week-on-week to Rs4,671. It was 6.02 percent more expensive than a year earlier.
The average price of a 50kg cement bag stood at Rs1,559, up 0.04 percent from the previous week and 10.43 percent higher than last year.
The SPI covers 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 cities and provides a weekly snapshot of price movements. It allows policymakers to track changes in the cost of everyday goods more closely than monthly inflation data.
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