The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) announced on Friday that weekly inflation for combined consumption groups fell by 0.29% during the week ending May 22. This data is based on the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks price changes for essential goods nationwide.
Despite the weekly decline, the SPI rose by 1.35% compared to the same week last year. The SPI covers 51 key products and measures prices in 17 urban centres. It reflects inflation trends for all income groups.
Inflation Drops Across All Income Groups
The lowest income category, with monthly expenses up to Rs17,732, saw the SPI drop slightly from 300.97 to 300.18 points. This marks a 0.26% fall. Other spending groups also recorded decreases:
Rs17,732 to Rs22,888: 0.27% drop
Rs22,889 to Rs29,517: 0.26% drop
Rs29,518 to Rs44,175: 0.28% drop
Above Rs44,175: 0.3% drop
Price Changes in Essential Items
During the week, prices fell for 14 out of 51 items tracked, while 13 items increased in price. The remaining 24 items stayed stable.
Key items with the largest price drops included:
Chicken: down 7.26%
Onions: down 5.43%
Garlic: down 2.71%
LPG: down 2.44%
Potatoes: down 0.95%
Other products that became cheaper were mustard oil, diesel, pulse masoor, cooking oil, rice IRRI-6/9, firewood, vegetable ghee, and sugar.
Read: Nepra Approves Dollar-Linked Returns for K-Electric, Sparks Backlash
Items With Rising Prices
Some commodities showed notable price increases this week:
Tomatoes: up 12.01%
Eggs: up 8.16%
Jaggery: up 1.5%
Bananas: up 1.0%
Pulse moong: up 0.79%
Prices for wheat flour, pulse gram, powdered milk, broken basmati rice, pulse mash, mutton, energy saver, and beef also rose modestly.
Sugar Prices Remain Above Government Limit
Refined sugar prices remain a concern. Retail prices exceed the government ceiling of Rs164 per kilogram in most major cities.
Average sugar prices ranged between Rs170 and Rs181 per kg in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and Quetta.
Karachi’s average sugar price: Rs177.71 per kg, peaking at Rs180
Lahore: Rs173.41
Islamabad: Rs178.32
Rawalpindi: Rs179.59
Peshawar recorded the highest average at Rs181.1 with peaks hitting Rs185 per kg
Year-on-Year Price Changes
On a yearly basis, some commodities showed sharp price increases:
Ladies’ sandals: up 55.62%
Chicken: up 45.12%
Pulse moong: up 30.79%
Powdered milk: up 24.01%
Bananas: up 22.43%
Sugar: up 22.12%
Eggs: up 21.52%
Pulse gram: up 20.70%
Beef: up 17.56%
Vegetable ghee 2.5 kg: up 13.86%
LPG: up 13.05%
Vegetable ghee 1 kg: up 12.76%
Meanwhile, several commodities dropped in price compared to last year:
Onions: down 54.93%
Potatoes: down 30.46%
Garlic: down 29.43%
Electricity charges (Q1): down 29.4%
Lipton tea: down 17.93%
Wheat flour: down 16.63%
Pulse mash: down 16.03%
Tomatoes: down 14.03%
Chili powder: down 12.3%
Rice IRRI-6/9: down 8.5%
Pulse masoor: down 7.64%
Petrol: down 7.43%
The weekly inflation dip shows some relief for consumers. However, rising prices of key commodities like sugar and tomatoes remain challenging. Policymakers and consumers will continue to monitor price trends closely in the weeks ahead.
