Pakistan short-term inflation rose to 11.97pc, PBS data shows

Short-term inflation in Pakistan rose to 11.97 per cent year-on-year for the week ending Oct 8, driven heavily by persistent increases in food and energy prices, according to official data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) climbed 0.57 per cent on a week-on-week basis, reflecting widespread price fluctuations across both food and non-food commodities.

Sensitive Price Index Tracks Essential Goods Across Markets

The SPI tracks short-term inflation by monitoring the prices of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities. According to the PBS data, prices of 20 commodities, or 39.22 per cent of the basket, increased over the week ending Oct 8. Meanwhile, six items declined in price, representing 11.76 per cent of the index, while 25 items remained unchanged from the previous week.

Short-term inflation has remained entrenched in double digits for several consecutive weeks. Persistent increases in petroleum prices have fueled cost-push inflation throughout the supply chain, as transportation costs rise and push up the retail price of essential food items such as onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables.

Government Refuses Petroleum Levy Cuts While Tax Collections Rise

Despite mounting inflationary pressure on households, the government has remained unwilling to ease the petroleum levy, continuing to raise petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis. Tax analysts noted that the surge in energy costs not only drives up consumer prices but also indirectly boosts sales tax collections for the state through higher transaction values on goods and services.

Wheat Flour and Chicken Lead Weekly Price Increases

The specific items that recorded the highest price increases over the week ending Oct 8 included wheat flour at 5.69 per cent, chicken at 4.93 per cent, and pulse gram at 3.99 per cent. Petrol and tomatoes each rose by 2.40 per cent, followed by pulse masoor at 1.29 per cent, prepared tea at 1.08 per cent, cooked daal at 0.98 per cent, pulse mash at 0.91 per cent, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at 0.57 per cent.

Conversely, several commodities recorded week-on-week price declines. Bananas dropped by 2.81 per cent, diesel fell by 1.37 per cent, potatoes decreased by 0.89 per cent, sugar dropped by 0.37 per cent, gur declined by 0.19 per cent, and pulse moong dipped by 0.03 per cent.

Annual Price Comparisons Highlight Severe Gains in Onions and Energy

On an annual basis, the data shows sharp divergence across the 51 monitored commodities. Onions recorded the most dramatic yearly surge, climbing 100.24 per cent, followed by LPG at 68.55 per cent and electricity charges for Q1 at 58.59 per cent. Petrol prices jumped 47.52 per cent year-on-year, diesel rose 42.52 per cent, and wheat flour increased by 32.60 per cent.

Other annual increases included chilli powder at 15.55 per cent, mutton at 15.02 per cent, beef at 12.60 per cent, chicken at 9.44 per cent, plain bread at 8.99 per cent, and curd at 8.08 per cent. In contrast, annual prices dropped significantly for potatoes, which fell 39.51 per cent, tomatoes down 37.07 per cent, sugar down 22.44 per cent, eggs down 18.88 per cent, powdered salt down 14.81 per cent, pulse masoor down 9.79 per cent, gur down 8.59 per cent, and pulse moong down 8.37 per cent.