Islamabad, June 1, 2024: Following a six-week hiatus, short-term inflation in Pakistan, as measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), has surged by 21.40 per cent year-on-year in the week ending May 30, according to official data released on Friday.
The rebound, which also witnessed a 0.11 per cent rise week-on-week, has been primarily attributed to a slight increase in the prices of tomatoes, onions, and pulses. Analysts anticipate that the real impact of the recent decline in petrol prices on essential commodities will become more apparent in the upcoming week’s review.
The recent increase in SPI comes after a notable decline observed in March, following an 11-week period of inflation exceeding 40 per cent, which had surged from 29 per cent recorded on Nov 8, 2023. Weekly inflation had hit a record 48.35 per cent year-on-year in early May 2023, subsequently decelerating to as low as 24.4 per cent in late Aug 2023, before surging past 40 per cent during the week ending on Nov 16, 2023.
Among the items witnessing a rise in prices week-on-week were tomatoes (11.25 per cent), onions (3.62 per cent), pulse mash (2 per cent), bananas (1.78 per cent), and potatoes (1.23 per cent), among others. Conversely, items such as eggs, chillies powder, LPG, and garlic saw notable decreases in prices over the previous week.
On an annual basis, the highest price increases were observed in gas charges for Q1 (570 per cent), onions (81.78 per cent), and chillies powder (59.98 per cent), among others. In contrast, prices of bananas, wheat flour, chicken, and cooking oil exhibited significant declines.
The SPI currently stands at 308.52, compared to 308.19 the preceding week and 254.13 a year ago. This index, comprising 51 items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed weekly to assess the prices of essential commodities and services at shorter intervals.
Data analysis reveals that prices of 14 items increased, 14 items decreased, and prices of 23 items remained stable compared to the previous week.
