CPI surges 27.4pc in August on yearly basis
ISLAMABAD
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based inflation increased by 0.54 percent for the sixth straight week ended on August 31. According to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, inflation on a year-on-year basis increased to 25.39 percent from 25.34 percent recorded a week earlier.
The weekly inflation surged by 0.05 percent, 0.78 percent, 0.69 percent, 1.3 percent and 3.73 percent in the preceding five weeks. The inflation for the week ended on August 24 for the lowest income group (Q1) witnessed an increase of 0.68 percent, while it went up by 23.54 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis for the same group. For the other four income groups, the weekly inflation increased from 0.49 percent (Q5) to 0.65 percent (Q2), while it went up from 21.29 percent (Q2) to 27.31 percent (Q4) on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
According to the PBS, the combined index was at 277.21 on August 31, 2023 as compared to 275.71 on August 24, 2023 while the index was recorded at 222.85 a year ago on September 1, 2022.
The SPI is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movements of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country. The SPI with base 2015-16100 comprises 51 essential items and the prices are being collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country for all expenditure groups/quintiles and combined.
During the week under review, out of 51 items, prices of 20 (39.22%) items increased, prices of 08 (15.68%) items decreased, and prices of 23 (45.10%) items remained stable.
The SPI for the current week recorded an increase in the prices of food items, including sugar (7.17%), gur (2.11%), pulse Masoor (1.50%) and pulse Mash (1.39%), and non-food items, including gents sandal (15.01%), LPG (3.92%), lawn printed (2.36%), long cloth (2.22%) and match box (1.07%).
On the other hand, a decrease was observed in the prices of tomatoes (3.36%), bananas (2.49%), onions (2.01%), chicken (1.23%), garlic (0.58%), vegetable ghee 2.5-kg (0.31%), vegetable ghee 1-kg (0.19%) and mustard oil (0.04%).
According to the PBS data, the year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 24.39 percent, including wheat flour (126.26%), gas charges for Q1 (108.38%), cigarettes (101.29%), sugar (94.06%), tea Lipton (93.94%), rice basmati broken (89.04%), chilies powdered (86.05%), rice Irri-6/9 (81.82%), gur (67.02%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), gent sandal (53.37%), salt powdered (49.09%), bread (45.42%) and powdered milk (43.44%).
On a year-on-year basis, a major decrease was observed in the prices of onions (57.06%), tomatoes (48.77%), electricity for Q1 (21.96%), and pulse Masoor (9.04%).
Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate rose to 27.4pc in August, with prices up 1.7pc in August from the previous month, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.
Economic stabilization is a top challenge for the country as it embarks on a narrow recovery path after a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) averted a sovereign debt default. Economic reforms have already fuelled record inflation and interest rates, and all-time lows for the rupee.
Pakistan raised petrol and diesel prices to a record high on Friday, with petrol prices rising 14.9 rupees to 305.4 rupees; and diesel prices rising 18.4 rupees to 311.8 rupees. In June, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rise was 28.3% year-on-year, coming off a record 38% in May.
