Short-term inflation reaches 35.4 percent
Published on: October 21, 2023.
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Short-term inflation in Pakistan is on the rise, reaching 35.45% year-on-year in the week ending October 19, according to official data. The increase in the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), a benchmark for measuring inflation, is primarily driven by higher prices of essential food items and electricity. This marks the sixth consecutive week that the SPI has remained above 30%.
Last week, the caretaker government made a significant reduction in petroleum product prices, which is expected to have an impact on everyday prices in the coming weeks. However, transportation costs remain unaffected by these price cuts due to the absence of a regulatory system.
Data shows that short-term inflation decreased by 1.7% compared to the previous week. Out of the 51 items in the SPI basket, the prices of 14 goods increased, while 24 saw a decrease. Prices of 13 items remained unchanged compared to the previous week.
During the reviewed period, several items experienced the highest price increases compared to the same week last year. These include electricity charges for the first quintile (136.89%), gas charges for the first quintile (108.38%), cigarettes (94.46%), chili powder (84.11%), rice basmati broken (81.74%), wheat flour (80.73%), rice Irri-6/9 (71.43%), sugar (66.29%), gur (61.50%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), powdered salt (57.40%), and Lipton tea (56.27%).
In terms of week-on-week changes, prices of eggs (3.44%), powdered salt (2.63%), shirting (2.18%), mutton (1.01%), beef (0.84%), cooked beef (0.72%), georgette (0.52%), washing soap (0.48%), prepared tea (0.34%), cooked daal (0.34%), potatoes (0.25%), and firewood whole (0.22%) saw the biggest increases.
In May, the SPI remained above 45% for three weeks and reached an all-time high of 48.35% on May 4. Factors contributing to this inflationary trend include the depreciation of the rupee, rising petrol prices, sales tax, and electricity bills.
On a week-on-week basis, the prices of onions dropped by 8.45%, chicken by 5.46%, pulse masoor by 3.38%, sugar by 3.07%, garlic by 2.24%, and rice basmati broken by 2.17%.
For more information on Pakistan’s rice exporters, rice suppliers, and rice business, please visit [Pakistan Rice Exporters](https://www.hasrice.com) and [Pakistan Rice](https://www.pakistanrice.com).
**Source:** [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com)
