Weekly inflation down 0.13pc

ISLAMABAD: Inflation, calculated through sensitive price index (SPI) for the combined income groups, ticked lower by 0.13 percent during the week ended on July 27 compared to the previous week, stats released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday.

The SPI for the aforementioned group settled at 218.75 points in the period under review against 219.03 points a week earlier.  Compared to the corresponding week of the last year, the SPI in the seven-day period under review inched up by just 0.46 per cent.  The weekly SPI, computed with base 2007, 2008 = 100, covers 17 urban centers and 53 essential items.

According to the PBS figures, the SPI for the lowest income group, up to Rs8,000, fell by 0.13 percent, going down from 208.57 points in the previous week to 208.29 points in the period under review.

On the other hand compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups, from Rs 8001 to 12,000, Rs 12,001 to 18,000, Rs 18,001 to 35,000 and above Rs 35,000, decreased by 0.46 percent, 0.13 percent,0.13 percent and 0.11 percent respectively.

During the week under review, average prices of 13 items went down, 11 items became dearer, while the rest of 29 items prices were unchanged.

The items, which registered increase included tomatoes, onions, LPG cylinder 11 kg, gur, mutton, beef, curd, pulse mash (washed), eggs hen (farm), milk (fresh), and rice basmati (broken).  The prices of rice irri-6, chicken farm (live), garlic, potatoes, pulse masoor (washed), pulse gram (washed), sugar, wheat, red chili, pulse moong (washed), wheat, vegetable ghee (loose) and powder milk decreased.  The items, whose prices did not change, included bread, mustard oil, cooking oil (tin), vegetable ghee (tin), salt (powder), tea (packet), cooked beef, cooked daal, tea (prepared), cigarettes, long cloth, shirting, lawn, georgette, gents sandal, gents chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, kerosene, firewood, electric bulb, washing soap, match box, petrol, diesel, telephone local call and bath soap.