Weekly inflation rate rises by 0.11pc

ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation rate measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) rose by 0.11 per cent during the week ending July 11 over the previous week’s price hike, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Friday.

Notably, the increase follows a 1.28 per cent uptick last week and a 0.73 per cent dip the previous week.The SPI gauges mostly the prices of kitchen items every week. The rise in the index this week was mostly due to significant hikes in the prices of chicken, powdered milk, fresh milk, and pulses.

Notably, year-on-year, the SPI increased by 23.33 per cent over the same week of last year’s price indicator. The SPI, which tracks the prices of 51 essential items, saw prices of 23 items increase, six decrease, and 22 remain unchanged compared to the previous week. In a span of one-week, notable increases were recorded in the prices of chicken, which increased 16.3 per cent to Rs373/kg; powdered milk by 6.1 per cent to Rs984/390gm packet; gram pulse by 3.5 per cent to Rs330/kg; lawn cloth by 2.4 per cent to Rs609/metre; long cloth by 1.6 per cent to Rs617/meter. Besides, fresh mil price increased by 1.4 per cent to Rs193/litre, masoor pulse by 1.23 per cent to Rs326/kg and moong pulse was costlier by 1.02 per cent to Rs337/kg. Interestingly, some items saw price reductions including tomatoes whose prices were down by 19.5 per cent to Rs164/kg, bananas by 2.3 per cent to Rs161/dozen, wheat flour by 1.85 per cent to Rs1,934/20kg bag, onions prices reduced by 1.6 per cent to Rs114/kg over the previous week. Similarly, potato prices were reduced by 0.86 per cent and eggs by 0.61 per cent.

On a year-on-year basis, gas prices hiked by 570 per cent for the lowest consumer slab, followed by a 125 per cent spike in tomato prices and onions by 86 percent. Similarly, chilies powder prices increased by 55 per cent, gram pulse 38 per cent, and garlic by 36 per cent. Powder milk was also more expensive by 33 per cent, moong pulse 29 per cent, shirting and powdered salt by 27 per cent each.

Gents sandals were costlier by 25 per cent, LPG 24 percent, and beef by 23 per cent. Likewise, mash pulse was costlier by 22 per cent and electricity for the lowest slab (Q1) was more expensive by 21 per cent over the previous year.Conversely, on a year-on-year basis, wheat flour was cheaper by 32 per cent, chicken by 16 per cent, 5-liter cooking oil by 15 per cent, vegetable ghee by 12 per cent, mustard oil by 8 per cent.

Lipton tea was cheaper by 2.5 per cent, and broken basmati rice by 2 per cent compared to prices from the same week last year.