Weekly inflation down 40 basis points

ISLAMABAD: The expectations of a rise in the prices of common commodities during the current fiscal year continue to remain well grounded as inflation, calculated  for the combined income groups, decreased by 40 basis points on a week-on-week basis, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed on Friday. 

The PBS numbers revealed the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ending on April 28, 2017 figured at 220.10 points against 220.99 points in the previous week, down 0.4 percent.

According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), this has been largely due to the near-absence of any major supply side pressures.  As compared to the corresponding week of the last year, the SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 3.02 percent. 

The PBS said that the weekly SPI has been computed with base 2007, 2008=100, covering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups and combined. 

Another comparison showed that the SPI for the lowest income group (up to Rs8,000) decreased by 0.49 percent, going down from 210.19 points last week to 209.15 points in the period under review.

As against to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs8001 to 12,000, Rs 12,001 to 18,000, Rs 18,001 to Rs35,000 and above Rs35,000, also decreased by 0.46 percent, 0.45 percent,0.4 percent and 0.35 percent respectively. 

During the week under review, average prices of 17 items went down, rates five items increased, while the prices of rest of the 31 items remained unchanged.

The items, which were sold at comparatively lower prices during the week included tomatoes, onions, garlic, eggs, potatoes, bananas, LPG cylinder, chicken, wheat flour, vegetable ghee, wheat, sugar, masoor pulse, gur, red chili, mash pulse and gram pulse.

The items, the average prices of which inflated, included tea (packet), moong pulse, mutton, rice (basmati broken) and curd.

 The central bank in its last month’s monetary policy statement said that going forward, improving consumer confidence, as depicted by Consumer Confidence Survey of March 2017, indicates further increase in consumer demand.