Weekly inflation up by 0.96 percent

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.96 percent for the combined consumption group during the week ended on September 7, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.

The SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 279.87 points as compared to 277.21 points during the past week, according to the PBS data.

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 26.32 percent.

The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centers and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to Rs 17,732, increased by 0.77 percent and went up to 285.27 points from last week’s 283.10 points.

The SPI for consumption groups from Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175 increased by 0.81 percent, 0.80 percent, 0.87 and 1.06 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 32 (62.75%) items increased, 05 (09.80%) items decreased and 14 (27.45%) items remained stable.

The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week (WoW) included chicken (3.20%), cooking oil 5 liters (1.03%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.47%), tea packet (0.43%) and vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.14%). The items that recorded an increase in their average prices on a week-on-week (wow) basis, included tomatoes (17.00%), pulse masoor (10.87%), sugar (6.73%), garlic (4.66%), gur (3.62%), pulse moong (3.55%), onions (3.43%) and pulse gram (3.25%), non-food items, diesel (6.28%), LPG (5.19%) and petrol (5.12%).

The commodities that witnessed a decrease in price on a year-on-year (yoy) basis, included tomatoes (34.77%), onions (23.44%), and electricity for q1 (21.96%).

On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices included wheat flour (117.71%), gas charges for q1 (108.38%), sugar (107.36%), cigarettes (100.16%), rice basmati broken (90.66%), tea packet (88.41%), chilies powder (86.05%), rice irri-6/9 (84.18%), gur (72.83%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), gents sandal (53.37%), salt powdered (52.07%), powdered milk (42.45%) and bread (42.33%). (APP)