Daily Times

The weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed an increase of 1.11 per cent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on March 7, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.

According to the PBS data, the SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 322.86 points as compared to 319.30 points during the past week. 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 32.39 per cent.

The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to Rs. 17,732, increased by 1.69 per cent and went up to 317.18 points from last week’s 311.92 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 1.45 percent, 1.20 percent, 1.15 and 0.99 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 14 (27.45%) items increased, 14 (27.45%) items decreased and 23 (45.10%) items remained stable. The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included chicken (6.95%), tea (1.29%), cooking oil 5 litre (0.96%), bread plain (0.51%), gur (0.40%), garlic (0.39%), pulse masoor (0.26%) and vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.23%).

The items that recorded an increase in their prices included onions (33.86%), potatoes (23.81%), tomatoes (16.42%), bananas (7.12%), lpg (4.43%), eggs (2.66%), petrol & firewood (1.49%) each, beef (1.38%), mutton (0.50%), cooked daal (0.41%) and long cloth (0.27%). On Year-on-Year basis, the commodities that witnessed decrease included vegetable ghee 1 kg (20.15%), cooking oil 5 litre (19.53%), bananas (17.95%), mustard oil (16.20%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (16.04%), LPG (4.20%), chicken (1.51%) and cigarettes (0.05%).