Daily Times

The weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 0.30 percent for the combined consumption group during the week ended on October 12, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.

The SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 282.86 points as compared to 282.00 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 38.28 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 0.25 percent and went up to 287.01 points from last week’s 286.29 points.

The SPI for consumption groups from Rs 17,732-22,888 and Rs 22,889-29,517 increased by 0.51 percent and 0.16 percent respectively whereas it witnessed nominal decrease of 0.02 percent for consumption group from Rs 29,518-44,175 and 0.25 percent increase for consumption group above Rs 44,175. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 17 (33.33%) items increased, 17 (33.33%) items decreased and 17 (33.33%) items remained stable.

The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week (WoW) included sugar (4.47%), pulse gram (2.75%) bananas (2.47%), pulse moong (2.44%), gur (1.93%), chicken (1.69%) rice irri-6/9 (1.46%) and pulse masoor (1.26%). The items that recorded an increase in their average prices on a week-on-week (wow) basis, included tomatoes (6.28%), eggs (3.48%), salt powdered (2.75%), cooked beef (1.06%), garlic (1.04%), tea prepared (0.73%), beef (0.39%), potatoes (0.35%), electricity charges for Q1 (8.59%), energy sever (0.55%), shirting (0.47%) and LPG (0.31%).

On year on year (YoY) basis, the commodities that witnessed a decrease in price included tomatoes (43.53%), onions (16.67%), pulse gram (4.01%) and mustard oil (1.19%).

On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices included electricity charges for Q1 (136.89%), gas charges for Q1 (108.38%), cigarettes (95.36%), rice basmati broken (86.21%), chilies powder (84.84%), wheat flour (79.28%), rice irri-6/9 (75.98%), sugar (71.87%), gur (65.09%), salt powdered (60.78%), tea packet (58.75%) and gents sponge chappal (58.05%).