Weekly inflation up 0.93 percent

­ISLAMABAD: The sensitive price indicator (SPI)-based inflation for the week ended May 17 for the combined income groups increased 0.93 percent as compared to the previous week.

The SPI for the week under review in the abovementioned group was recorded at 229.53 points against 227.37 points last week, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed on Friday.

SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 2.7 percent.

SPI for the lowest income group up to Rs8,000 also increased 0.83 percent, as it went up to 212.48 points in the week under review from 210.74 points in the previous week.

SPI for the income groups from Rs8,001 to Rs12,000, Rs12,001 to Rs18,000, and Rs18,001 to Rs35,000 and above Rs35,000 increased 0.88 percent, 0.93 percent, 0.95 percent and 0.95 percent, respectively.

Average prices of 21 items increased, four registered decline, while prices of the remaining 28 items remained unchanged.

The items, which registered increase in prices included bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, chicken farm, match box, tea, salt powder (loose), Irri-6, wheat, beef, mutton, eggs (farm), milk fresh, LPG cylinder, vegetable ghee (tin), vegetable ghee (loose), red chilly powder, gur, sugar, and pulse masoor.

The items, which registered decrease in their prices included garlic, wheat flour, pulse mash, and pulse moong.

The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included basmati (broken), bread plain, curd, powdered milk, mustard oil, cooking oil (tin), pulse gram, cooked pulses, tea (prepared), cigarettes, long cloth, shirting, lawn printed, georgette, gents shoes, ladies shoes, electricity and gas charges, kerosene, firewood whole, electric bulb, washing soap, petrol, hi-speed diesel, telephone local call charges, and bathing soap.