Daily Times

The weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), witnessed a decrease of 0.73 percent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on June 27, 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 314.57 points as compared to 316.88 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 22.88 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 of up to Rs 17,732, decreased by 0.80 per cent and went down to 306.62 points from last week’s 309.10 points. The SPI for consumption groups of Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517; Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175, decreased by 0.85 percent, 0.77 percent, 0.79 and 0.67 percent respectively. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.29%) items increased, 8 (15.69%) items decreased and 25 (49.02%) items remained stable. The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included tomatoes (25.25%), chicken (14.20%), onions (3.90%), garlic (2.80%), bread (0.81%), rice basmati broken (0.15%), eggs (0.09%) and rice Irri (0.04%). The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices on week-on-week basis included f LPG (5.38%), pulse gram (4.72%), pulse moong (3.20%), cooked daal (1.87%), pulse masoor (1.79%), potatoes (0.99%), gur (0.87%), bananas and wheat flour (0.61%) each, pulse mash (0.32%) and firewood (0.20%). On-year basis, the commodities that witnessed decrease included wheat flour (32.49%), chicken (31.87%), cooking oil 5 litre (15.98%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (13.29%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (12.31%), bananas (11.15%), mustard oil (8.07%), tea packet (2.52%) and petrol (1.38%). The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices on year-on-year basis included gas charges for Q1 (570.00%), tomatoes (117.52%), onions (113.98%), chilies powder (54.81%), garlic (36.61%), shirting (30.75%), salt powder (29.49%), pulse gram (28.45%), gents sandal (25.01%), pulse mash (22.99%), pulse moong (22.50%) and electricity charges for Q1 (21.46%).