Pakistan weekly inflation rises 0.99pc on electricity and LPG prices

Pakistan's Sensitive Price Index (SPI) inflation rose 0.99 per cent in the week ended 24 September, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, which attributed the increase mainly to an 18.76 per cent jump in Q1 electricity charges, a 2.02 per cent rise in egg prices and a 1.55 per cent increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Among other items whose prices rose during the week, PBS recorded pulse masoor up 0.75 per cent, chicken up 0.72 per cent, washing soap up 0.59 per cent, pulse gram up 0.34 per cent, mutton up 0.31 per cent, beef up 0.30 per cent, curd up 0.27 per cent, fresh milk up 0.14 per cent and wheat flour up 0.11 per cent. Items that fell included tomatoes, down 13.45 per cent, potatoes down 8.33 per cent, bananas down 5.66 per cent, onions down 2.42 per cent, diesel down 1.57 per cent, salt powder down 0.90 per cent, petrol down 0.34 per cent, sugar down 0.23 per cent, mustard oil down 0.04 per cent and gur down 0.01 per cent.

Of the 51 items in the basket, the bureau said 20 items, or 39.21 per cent of the basket, recorded an increase; 10 items, or 19.61 per cent, recorded a decrease; and 21 items, or 41.18 per cent, were unchanged. On a year-on-year basis the index rose 11.92 per cent, which PBS said was driven mainly by onions, up 115.98 per cent, LPG up 63.97 per cent, Q1 electricity up 58.59 per cent, diesel up 51.80 per cent, petrol up 47.49 per cent, wheat flour up 32.41 per cent, gents sponge chappal up 16.69 per cent, chilli powder up 16.37 per cent, mutton up 15.75 per cent, beef up 13.22 per cent, firewood up 10.72 per cent, plain bread up 8.96 per cent, shirting up 8.38 per cent, washing soap up 8.36 per cent and fresh milk up 8.10 per cent.

Annual declines were led by potatoes, down 39.21 per cent, followed by sugar down 21.14 per cent, tomatoes down 19.81 per cent, eggs down 18.40 per cent, salt powder down 14.73 per cent, pulse gram down 11.65 per cent, pulse masoor down 10.47 per cent, pulse moong down 7.89 per cent, gur down 7.30 per cent, rice irri-6/9 down 3.28 per cent, garlic down 3.03 per cent, chicken down 2.51 per cent and rice basmati broken down 0.33 per cent.

Broken down by income group, households earning up to Rs17,732 a month recorded an increase of 0.85 per cent, with the SPI rising from 351.07 to 354.06 points. The Rs17,733-22,888 group rose 1.28 per cent, from 352.87 to 357.40 points, while the Rs22,889-29,517 bracket rose 0.81 per cent, from 374.87 to 377.88 points. The Rs29,518-44,175 group rose 0.62 per cent, from 362.97 to 365.21 points, and the highest group, Rs44,175 and above, rose 0.77 per cent, from 366.32 to 369.45 points. The combined SPI climbed from 366.05 points to 369.69 points, an overall increase of 0.99 per cent.