Weekly inflation decreases 0.03%

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on February 15 for the combined income groups witnessed a slight decrease of 0.03 percent as compared to previous week.

The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 222.24 points against 222.31 points last week, according to latest data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 1.03 per cent. The weekly SPI has been computed with base 2007, 2008=100, covering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups.

Meanwhile, the SPI for the lowest income group up to Rs 8,000 also decreased by 0.13 percent as it went down from 210.82 points in the previous week to 210.55 points in the week under review.

As compared to the last week, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the income groups from Rs 8001 to 12,000, Rs 12,001 to 18,000, and Rs 18,001 to 35,000 also decreased by 0.09 percent, 0.05 percent, and 0.03 percent while Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for income groups of above Rs 35000 increased by 0.02 percent.

During the week under review, average prices of 13 items registered decrease, while 10 items increased with the remaining 30 items’ prices unchanged.

The items, which registered decrease in their prices during the week under review included onions, potatoes, gur, chicken (farm), sugar, pulse gram, LPG cylinder, pulse moong, pulse mash, garlic, wheat flour, and vegetable ghee (loose).

The items, which registered increase in prices, included Eggs, (farm), tea, tomatoes, bananas, georgette, red chilly mustard oil, wheat, mutton and vegetable ghee (tin).

The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included rice basmati (broken), rice IRRI-6, bread plain, beef, milk fresh, curd, powdered milk, cooking oil (tin), salt powder (loose), cooked beef, tea prepared, cigarettes, long cloth, shirting, lawn printed, gents shoes, ladies shoes, kerosene oil, electricity charges, firewood whole, electric bulb, washing soap, petrol, match box, Hi Speed Diesel, telephone charges, and bathing soap.