According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based inflation for the week ending June 1, 2023, increased by 0.03 percent. This was primarily due to higher prices of various food items, including onions, potatoes, chicken, tea prepared, tomatoes, salt powdered, and non-food item energy savers.
On a year-on-year basis, there was a significant increase of 42.67 percent in inflation, mainly driven by rising prices of cigarettes, Lipton tea, gas charges, wheat flour, bananas, potatoes, rice (irri-6/9 and basmati broken), pulses (moong and mash), bread, eggs, washing soap, petrol, and diesel. However, prices of tomatoes and onions experienced a decrease.
The latest data from the PBS revealed that the SPI for the week stood at 254.13 points, slightly higher than the previous week’s 254.05 points. Out of the 51 items monitored, 19 items saw price increases, 14 items witnessed price decreases, and 18 items remained stable.
Moreover, the SPI varied across different consumption groups. The consumption group up to Rs. 17,732 and Rs. 17,732-22,888 experienced a slight decrease, while the groups Rs. 22,889-29,517, Rs. 29,518-44,175, and above Rs. 44,175 saw slight increases in the SPI.
Notably, some of the items that saw an increase in average prices included onions, potatoes, chicken, energy saver Philips, tea prepared, tomatoes, salt powdered, beef with bone, rice irri-6/9, cooked beef, mutton, fresh milk, plain bread, gur, curd, pulse mash, pulse masoor, powdered milk nido, and sugar. Conversely, LPG, wheat flour, bananas, petrol super, eggs, hi-speed diesel, vegetable ghee (Dalda/Habib), mustard oil, cooking oil, pulse moong, garlic, and rice basmati broken experienced price decreases.
