Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), dropped by 1.13% for all consumption groups in the week ending March 21, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to PBS data, the SPI for the mentioned week stood at 323.50 points, down from 327.21 points the previous week. Compared to the same week last year, the SPI for all consumption groups rose by 29.06 percent.
Covering 17 urban centers and 51 essential items, the weekly SPI, based on the 2015-16 base year, saw decreases across consumption groups.
Prices for items in the lowest consumption group, up to Rs. 17,732, fell by 1.83 percent. Prices also declined for other consumption groups: Rs. 17,732-22,888 by 1.64 percent, Rs. 22,889-29,517 by 1.34 percent, Rs. 29,518-44,175 by 1.25 percent, and above Rs. 44,175 by 0.91 percent. Out of 51 items, 9 items saw price increases, 17 saw decreases, and 25 remained stable.
Decreases were noted in the prices of tomatoes (36.73%), onions (19.58%), potatoes (4.02%), garlic (2.87%), pulse mash (1.25%), wheat flour (1.02%), sugar (0.95%), pulse masoor (0.86%), and diesel (0.60%). Items with price increases included LPG (1.49%), shirting (0.74%), beef (0.53%), rice basmati broken (0.48%), mutton (0.42%), mustard oil (0.40%), rice irri 6/9 (0.25%), powdered milk (0.14%), and georgette (0.03%).
On a year-on-year basis, decreases were observed in cooking oil (21.35%), vegetable ghee (18.48% for 2.5 kg and 18.44% for 1 kg), mustard oil (13.90%), bananas (13.52%), diesel (2.47%), and cigarettes (0.06%). Increases were noted in gas charges for Q1 (570.00%), chili powder (86.05%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), garlic (57.41%), onions (54.65%), gents sandal (53.37%), gur (39.86%), sugar (35.01%), salt powder (33.29%), energy saver (29.83%), and pulse mash (27.31%).