As a result of the drastic increase in the prices of staple foods such as tomatoes and onions, as well as fuel, Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based inflation for the week ending on September 29 increased to 30.62 per cent year-on-year.
According to the data shared by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, inflation soared by 0.94pc week-on-week.
However, the inflation rate was considerably below the record high of 45.5 percent recorded for the week ending September 1. Inflation was reported at 29.28 percent last week.
Read more: Weekly inflation making new records!
Increase is observed in the prices of food items, Onions (47.77%), Tomatoes (30.29%), Tea Lipton (2.50%), Bread (1.74%), non-food item, Washing Soap (1.13%).
On the other hand, decrease observed in the prices of LPG (4.14%), Wheat Flour (2.99%), Pulse Masoor (1.59%), Bananas (1.50%), Cooking Oil 5 litre (1.12%), Sugar (0.60%), Garlic (0.22%), Vegetable Ghee 2.5Kg (0.17%) and Vegetable Ghee 1Kg & Potatoes (0.13%) each.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 20 (39.22%) items increased, 10 (19.61%) items decreased, and 21 (41.17%) items remained stable.
SPI is computed on weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country. SPI comprises of 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country.
According to the finance ministry’s Monthly Economic Update and Outlook for September, Pakistan is suffering a grave economic and humanitarian catastrophe as a result of this year’s disastrous floods.
It was observed that food inflation was not only a domestic concern, but that prices had grown globally as well. However, it was stated that the floods had exacerbated the domestic situation.
Pakistan’s external environment is becoming more challenging. Recent floods caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains have harmed crops, changing the economic picture mostly through agricultural performance.