Weekly inflation rises by 0.78 per cent

ISLAMABAD: Inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.78 per cent for the week ending on August 17, 2023, driven by higher prices of food items such as chili powder (7.58 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (7.48 per cent), garlic (5.06 per cent), and non-food items including diesel (7.29 per cent) and petrol (6.40 per cent), as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Year-on-year, inflation surged by 27.57 per cent, primarily due to significant price hikes in items like wheat flour (131.29 per cent), gas charges for q1 (108.38 per cent), cigarettes (106.89 per cent), tea Lipton (95.19 per cent), and rice basmati broken (88.76 per cent). However, prices of onions, electricity for q1, masoor, and vegetable ghee 1kg experienced a decrease.

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The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the reviewed week reached 275.57 points, up from 273.43 points the previous week. Among the 51 items monitored, 32 saw price increases, seven saw decreases, and 12 remained stable.

Inflation affected different consumption groups, with the SPI rising by 0.36 percent for the lowest group and 0.98 percent for the highest. Notable price increases were observed in chili powder, rice, diesel, petrol, garlic, sugar, gur, chicken, bananas, and more. Tomatoes, cooking oil, vegetable ghee, and wheat flour saw decreases in average prices.

The escalating inflation trend continues to challenge consumers’ purchasing power and highlights the need for economic stability measures.

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