Rise of Weekly Inflation by 29.6%
Published on: October 28, 2023.
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Short-term Inflation in Pakistan Sees Moderate Increase, Despite Drop in Petroleum Prices
In the week ending on October 27, short-term inflation in Pakistan increased by 29.65% compared to the same period last year, according to official data released on Friday. This rise comes despite a significant reduction in prices of petroleum products. The inflation rate, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), has been steadily increasing over the past five weeks but remained below the 30% mark. On a week-on-week basis, the SPI slightly eased by 0.33%, primarily due to a drop in petrol prices.
The recent cut in petroleum prices by the caretaker government had a noticeable impact on the prices of vegetables, as transportation charges decreased. However, in the upcoming review, petrol prices are expected to see a slight increase of around Rs2.43 per litre, while diesel prices are projected to decrease by Rs5.65 per litre. This adjustment is driven by the recent surge in global oil prices resulting from the crisis in the Middle East.
Out of the 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 14 items increased, 17 items decreased, and prices of 20 items remained unchanged compared to the previous week. Among the items that experienced the most significant price increases compared to the same week last year were gas charges for Q1 (108.38%), cigarettes (94.46%), chillies powder (84.11%), rice basmati broken (78.51%), wheat flour (77.49%), sugar (63.22%), rice Irri-6/9 (62.83%), gents sponge chappal (58.05%), gur (57.73%), and salt powdered (54.84%).
The week-on-week analysis revealed that prices of tomatoes (20.81%), potatoes (3.33%), eggs (1.63%), salt powdered (0.91%), garlic (0.77%), tea prepared (0.67%), bread plain (0.56%), and mutton (0.28%) had the largest increases. Conversely, the prices of chicken dropped by 10.19% on a week-on-week basis, along with onions (4.4%), rice IRRI-6/9 (3.84%), bananas (3.64%), gur (3.4%), pulse masoor (2.36%), sugar (2.22%), and mustard oil (2.17%).
Factors contributing to this inflationary trend include the depreciation of the rupee, rising petrol prices, sales tax, gas bills, and electricity bills. These factors have collectively influenced the rising cost of living in Pakistan.
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Source: [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com){:target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”}
