ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) eased slightly to 29.24 per cent year-on-year (YoY) for the week ending on Nov 10, data shared by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday.
The annual increase in SPI has been on the decline for some time, falling from a peak of 45.5pc in the week ending Sept 1. Last week, YoY inflation was measured at 30.6pc.
However, as per the data the weekly inflation, measured by the SPI, posted an increase of 0.74 percent for the combined income group on a week-on-week basis due to increase in food prices.
The SPI-based inflation is steadily on the rise for the past four consecutive weeks on a week-on-week basis. After rebasing, the SPI started an upward trend with a 4.13pc increase on October 27 as the highest week-on-week increase followed by 3.68pc on Sept 22 driven by an increase in fuel adjustment prices in the electricity bills of consumers.
The annual increase in SPI has been on the decline for some time, falling from a peak of 45.5pc in the week ending Sept 1. Other notable mentions: 44.6pc (Aug 25), 42.7pc (Sept 8), 42.3pc (Aug 18). Prices rose at such a fast pace recently on the back of surging food and fuel prices.
The SPI monitors the prices of 51 essential items based on a survey of 50 markets in 17 cities across the country. During the week under review, the prices of 22 out of 51 items increased, 14 decreased, and 15 remained stable.
In the food group, the items that saw the highest week-on-week increase in prices include onions (27.16pc), potatoes (5.31pc), tea lipton (4.62pc), bananas (4.38pc), sugar (3.60pc), eggs (2.13pc), chicken (1.98pc). In the non-food group, on a week-on-week basis, the long cloth 57″ (1.21pc) and firewood (1.21pc).
On a year-on-year basis, the items whose prices jumped the most included onions (292.30pc), diesel (64.57pc), pulse gram (59.69pc), pulse moong (54.66pc), petrol (53.85pc), gents sponge chappal (52.21pc), bananas (52.18pc), tea lipton (50.39pc), washing soap (50.37pc), pulse mash (49.58pc), cooking oil 5 liter (46.71pc), vegetable ghee 2.5 Kg (46.02pc) and salt powdered & pulse masoor (45.03pc), respectively.
According to a World Bank report the average Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation in Pakistan would rise to 23pc in the current fiscal year from 12.2pc a year ago due to higher domestic energy prices, flood disruptions and a weaker rupee. Almost similar projections were made by the State Bank of Pakistan as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in their recent reports.
