Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), rose by 42.31 per cent year-on-year in August, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
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The SPI for the week ended August 18 increased by 3.35 per cent compared with the previous week, with prices of several essential commodities rising during the period.
According to the PBS data, prices of several food items increased during the week.
The largest increase was recorded in the price of tomatoes, which rose by 20.28 per cent. Poultry prices increased by 7.57 per cent, while onion prices went up by 2.30 per cent.
The prices of powdered milk increased by 2.03 per cent, followed by eggs at 1.63 per cent, pulse moong at 1.42 per cent and potatoes at 1.07 per cent.
The increases in essential food items added to the pressure on household budgets, particularly for consumers purchasing basic kitchen commodities.
The weekly inflation data also showed increases in several non-food items.
Electricity prices increased by 6.83 per cent, while petrol prices rose by 2.96 per cent during the week under review.
Cigarette prices also increased by 1.69 per cent, according to the PBS.
The PBS data showed that prices of 11 items declined during the week.
LPG prices recorded the largest decline among these items, falling by 3.46 per cent. Vegetable ghee prices decreased by 1.16 per cent, while garlic prices fell by 0.94 per cent.
Mustard oil declined by 0.71 per cent, followed by pulse masoor at 0.42 per cent and pulse gram at 0.36 per cent.
Cooking oil prices decreased by 0.31 per cent, while diesel prices fell by 0.18 per cent. Firewood prices declined by 0.16 per cent, while sugar prices recorded a marginal decrease of 0.03 per cent.
