Weekly inflation jumps 0.71pc on higher food prices

KARACHI: Pakistan’s weekly inflation went back up by 0.71 percent week-on-week and 29.88 percent year-on-year as prices of tomatoes and onions increased more than 25 percent, official data showed on Friday.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) attributed the increase in sensitive price indicator (SPI) inflation to the rise in the prices of tomatoes (25.58 percent), onions (25.25 percent), chicken (10.79 percent), potatoes (1.61 percent), tea (1.58 percent), eggs (1.30 percent), garlic (0.50 percent), basmati broken rice (0.19 percent), georgette (0.28 percent) and firewood (0.05 percent).

On the other hand major decrease was observed in the prices of gur (2.66 percent), banana (1.78 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (1.62 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (1.23 percent), LPG cylinder (1.05 percent), pulse masoor (0.93 percent), wheat flour (0.62 percent), washing soap (0.41 percent) and mustard oil (0.32 percent).

For the week under review, SPI was recorded at 279.08 points against 277.11 points registered last week and 214.88 points recorded during the week ended November 3, 2022.

PBS compiles SPI via collecting prices of 51 essential items from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 12 (23.53 percent) items increased, 14 (27.45 percent) items decreased and 25 (49.02 percent) items remained stable.

Amidst an absence of a price control mechanism, food is getting out of reach for the lower and middle income Pakistanis. Although the price of wheat flour has declined by Rs16.71 to Rs2,689.61 from last week’s Rs2,706.32 per 20kg bag, it is expensive for the informal workers and those in the lowest income brackets. The essential commodity has the third highest weightage in the SPI basket at 6.1372 percent for the lowest expenditure group. For the groups spending up to Rs17,732; Rs17,733-22,888; Rs22,889-29,517; Rs29,518-44,175; and above Rs44,175; YoY SPI now stands at 28.60, 28.72, 30.02, 30.19, and 29.91 percent, respectively.

PBS data showed that the highest increase in SPI was the highest for those spending Rs22,889-29,517, while the lowest impact was witnessed by those spending up to Rs17,732.

As per PBS data, YoY SPI trend depicts an increase of 29.88 percent because of a hike in prices of gas charges for Q1 (108.38 percent), cigarettes (94.46 percent), chilli powder (84.11 percent), broken basmati rice (78.08 percent), wheat flour (76.51 percent), sugar (62.60 percent), rice irri-6/9 (62.27 percent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 percent), tea (55.79 percent), garlic (54.51 percent) and gur (53.53 percent). A decrease was observed in the prices of tomatoes (26.26 percent), onions (13.98 percent), pulse gram (5.50 percent), mustard oil (4.47 percent) and vegetable ghee 1kg (1.97 percent).