Islamabad
December 2021 once again saw a double-digit increase in the prices of consumer items as inflation edged up to 12.3% from 11.5% in November 2021, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Saturday.
Analysts had already anticipated the inflation to be double-digit, as the current CPI inflation was in line with their expected targets.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation remained “flattish”, slightly declining by 0.02% owing to a significant decline in food inflation.
According to Arif Habib Limited (AHL), the inflation for the month of December is the highest in 22 months (February 2020: 12.40%).
Speaking to Geo.tv, an analyst from AHL Sana Tawfiq said that the inflation rate is in line with the market expectation.
Tawfiq said: “The year-on-year increase was fueled by non-food items — household equipment. Moreover, the base inflation last year was lower.”
“A slight decrease of 0.02% on a month-on-month basis came on the back of an improvement in food inflation,” she said.
