Weekly inflation down over half a percent

ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on July 12, 2018 edged down 0.58 percent as compared to the previous week, latest data showed on Friday.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) stats revealed the SPI for the combined income groups reached 228.78 points during the week under review against 230.11 points recorded last week.

The SPI in the week under review increased 4.25 percent as compared to the corresponding week of the last year.

The SPI for the lowest income group up to Rs8,000 also decreased 0.22 percent going down from 216.33 points in the previous week to 215.86 points in the week under review.

Compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs8001 to Rs12,000, Rs12,001 to Rs18,000, Rs18,001 to Rs35,000 and above Rs35,000 decreased 0.34 percent, 0.43 percent, 0.56 percent, and 0.78 percent respectively.

During the week under review, average prices of 8 items decreased, while 18 items increased, while the remaining 27 items prices remained unchanged.

The items, whose prices reduced during the week under review included chicken, bananas, diesel, petrol, kerosene oil, garlic, mash pulse, and gram pulse.

The commodities that became dearer included tomatoes, eggs, onions, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder, bath soap, cooked beef, potatoes, wheat flour, sugar, red chilli, wheat, rice (basmati), gur (jaggery), washing soap, beef (uncooked), vegetable ghee, masoor pulse, and moong pulse.

The consumables that did not register any change in their prices were rice (irri-6), bread, mutton milk (fresh), curd, milk (powdered), mustard oil, cooking oil, vegetable ghee, salt (powdered), tea (packet), cooked daal (pulse), tea (prepared), cigarettes, long cloth, shirting, lawn, georgette, gents sandal, gents chappal (slippers), ladies sandal, electricity charges, firewood, electric bulb, match box, and telephone local call.