Pakistan’s inflation eased slightly in June, offering a small break after months of rising prices, though the overall cost of living remained much higher than it was a year ago.
Fresh data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday showed that headline inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), slowed to 11.1 percent in June on an annual basis. That was lower than May’s 11.7 percent reading, but still far above the 3.2 percent recorded in June last year.
The latest figures also showed prices fell 0.3 percent compared with May, marking the first monthly decline after prices rose 0.5 percent in the previous month. In June last year, monthly inflation had increased by 0.2 percent.
For the first 12 months of fiscal year 2026, average inflation stood at 7.05 percent, compared with 4.49 percent during the same period a year earlier.
The data suggested that inflationary pressure has started to ease after climbing for several months, although consumers are still paying much more for goods and services than they were a year ago.
Inflation slowed in both urban and rural areas during June. Urban inflation came in at 11.2 percent, down from 11.8 percent in May, while rural inflation eased to 10.9 percent from 11.5 percent. Even with the improvement, both figures remained well above the levels recorded in June 2025.
Meanwhile, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks changes in the prices of essential household items, painted a different picture. SPI inflation rose 12.8 percent from a year earlier, up from 12.0 percent in May. On a monthly basis, it remained unchanged at 0.7 percent.
Wholesale prices also showed signs of cooling. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) increased 10.7 percent from a year earlier, slowing from 12.7 percent in May. Compared with the previous month, wholesale prices fell 1.2 percent, extending May’s 0.8 percent decline.
Measures of core inflation, which exclude more volatile items to give a clearer picture of underlying price trends, also moved lower. Urban non-food, non-energy inflation eased to 8.7 percent from 9.0 percent, while the rural measure slowed to 7.9 percent from 8.4 percent.
Other underlying inflation gauges also showed improvement, with both the urban and rural trimmed mean measures recording modest declines during June.
Overall, the latest figures point to inflation losing some momentum. However, prices across the economy remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, suggesting households are still facing pressure despite the recent slowdown.
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