Weekly inflation in Pakistan rose on a year-on-year basis in the week ending January 22, driven mainly by higher retail prices of wheat flour and pulses, according to official data released on Friday.
Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased 4.18 per cent compared to the same week last year. The SPI has now remained on an upward trajectory for 25 consecutive weeks, reflecting persistent pressure on household budgets.
Read More: Weekly inflation falls by 0.48 %
The rise in annual inflation was largely attributed to increased prices of essential food items, particularly wheat flour and various pulses. Perishable items such as tomatoes and eggs also contributed to inflationary pressure. However, on a week-on-week basis, the SPI declined by 0.48 per cent due to falling prices of potatoes and onions.
Officials noted that sharp increases in sugar and meat prices in recent weeks had previously added to inflationary pressures, with meat prices continuing to rise steadily over the past several weeks.
Weekly inflation had reached a record high of 48.35 per cent in early May 2023 before easing to 24.4 per cent by late August 2023. However, inflation surged again above 40 per cent in mid-November 2023, highlighting ongoing volatility in consumer prices.
During the past week, prices of several items rose sharply, including tomatoes (9.83pc), bananas (3.66pc), wheat flour (2.27pc), eggs (1.02pc), firewood (0.56pc) and pulses such as mash, moong and gram. Marginal increases were also recorded in sugar and clothing items.
In contrast, prices declined for a range of commodities, most notably chicken (16.68pc), potatoes (8.52pc) and onions (7.27pc). Reductions were also seen in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), vegetable ghee, cooking oil and pulses such as masoor.
Read More: Weekly inflation rises 3.8% amid surge in food and fuel prices
On an annual basis, wheat flour recorded the highest increase at 38.60 per cent, followed by eggs at 35.99 per cent and gas charges at 29.85 per cent. Meanwhile, prices of potatoes, garlic and onions showed significant year-on-year declines.