WEB DESK: The Sensitive Price Index (SPI)-based inflation for the week ending January 8, 2024, rose by 1.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY), according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This marks the lowest YoY increase in the past six years, as highlighted by brokerage firm Topline Securities.
Year-on-Year Trends
The YoY rise in inflation is primarily driven by significant price hikes in the following items:
- Potatoes: +58.76 per cent
- Pulse Gram: +42.11 per cent
- Pulse Moong: +34.15 per cent
- Powdered Milk: +25.76 per cent
- Beef: +23.75 per cent
- Garlic: +18.43 per cent
- Gas Charges (Q1): +15.52 per cent
- Vegetable Ghee (1Kg): +15.48 per cent
- Cooked Daal: +15.10 per cent
- Shirting: +14.36 per cent
- Firewood: +12.89 per cent
Conversely, significant YoY declines were observed in the prices of:
- Onions: -36.25 per cent
- Wheat Flour: -36.17 per cent
- Eggs: -24.07 per cent
- Chilies Powder: -20.00 per cent
- Electricity Charges (Q1): -18.11 per cent
- Pulse Masoor: -11.18 per cent
- Rice Basmati Broken: -9.14 per cent
- Pulse Mash: -7.00 per cent
- Diesel: -6.39 per cent
- Bread: -5.48 per cent
- Petrol: -5.45 per cent
Week-on-Week Trends
On a week-on-week (WoW) basis, SPI-based inflation saw a decrease of 0.65 per cent, primarily due to reductions in the prices of:
- Tomatoes: -31.40 per cent
- Potatoes: -10.36 per cent
- Eggs: -5.96 per cent
- Pulse Gram: -1.64 per cent
- Onions: -0.87 per cent
- Rice Basmati Broken: -0.54 per cent
- Rice IRRI-6/9: -0.40 per cent
- Pulse Mash: -0.27 per cent
- LPG: -0.14 per cent
Item-Wise Stability
Out of the 51 items tracked during the week:
- 18 items (35.29 per cent) experienced price increases,
- 10 items (19.61 per cent) showed price decreases, and
- 23 items (45.10 per cent) remained stable.
This detailed breakdown provides valuable insights into the trends driving Pakistan’s inflation, offering a clearer picture of the nation’s economic trajectory.
Read More: Tesla launches redesigned its best-selling Model Y
