Pakistan Weekly Inflation Dips 0.02% Amid YoY Rise

Per the latest data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), short-term inflation in Pakistan dipped by a marginal 0.02% for the week concluding Friday, relative to the prior week. Nonetheless, year-on-year inflation escalated to 5.03% compared to the corresponding period last year.

Weekly price fluctuations spanned 51 essential items, where 22 items (43.14%) registered price increases, 4 items (7.84%) noted price decreases, and 25 items (49.02%) stayed stable. Pronounced declines hit wheat flour (down 9.80%), chicken (down 3.20%), bananas (down 3.10%), and gur (down 0.30%).

Conversely, sharp rises were evident in onions (up 12.17%), tomatoes (up 10.47%), potatoes (up 3.57%), LPG (up 3.10%), and rice IRRI-6/9 (up 1.63%). Additional increases affected eggs, sugar, and pulses, with hikes between 1.33% and 1.52%.

Year-on-year, prices exhibited a stark 5.03% overall surge. Key drops included onions (down 40.28%), garlic (down 26.69%), Q1 electricity charges (down 21.37%), and pulses like mash and gram (up to 20.89% decline). In contrast, tomatoes skyrocketed by 90.07%, while essentials such as ladies’ sandals, gas charges, and sugar climbed from 29.33% to 55.62%.

By income group analysis, the lowest income group faced a subtle weekly inflation dip of 0.13%. Yet, year-on-year, this segment endured a 5.85% rise, mirroring elevated inflation across all income brackets, fluctuating between 4.15% and 5.85%.

Separately, the average price of Sona urea edged up 0.21% week-over-week to Rs4,388 per 50 kg bag, though it remained 5.98% lower than last year. Cement prices stood at Rs1,408 per 50 kg bag, a negligible 0.04% decline from the previous week and 4.55% lower annually.

The PBS gauges short-term inflation via the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks weekly price movements of 51 essential items sourced from 50 markets in 17 cities across Pakistan.