The sensitive price index (SPI) for the combined consumption group has seen a weekly increase of 0.48% during the week that ended on November, 24, 2022. According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), SPI for the week under review recorded 218.87 points compared to 217.82 points in the week before. Compared to the same week last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week this year witnessed an increase of 30.16%. The weekly SPI with base year 2015-16 =100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to PKR 17,732 witnessed 0.46% increase and went up to 228.23 points from last week’s 227.19 points. Meanwhile, the SPI for the consumption groups from PKR 17,732-22,888; PKR 22,889-29,517; PKR 29,518-44,175 and above PKR 44,175 witnessed an increase of 0.48%, 0.47%, 0.50% and 0.47% respectively. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 19 (37.25%) items increased, 09 (17.65%) items decreased and 23 (45.10%) items remained stable.

The items which recorded decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week (WoW) basis included pulse gram (1.26%), tomatoes (1.08%), pulse masoor (1.07%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.59%), wheat flour (0.40%), LPG (0.39%), cooking oil 5-litre (0.32%), pulse moong (0.17%) and pulse mash (0.17%) each. The commodities which recorded increase in their average prices included eggs (8.45%), bananas (5.87%), chicken (4.03%), onions (2.35%), tea prepared (2.02%), sugar (1.31%), cooked daal (1.07%) and firewood (1.76%).

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the commodities that witnessed a decrease in prices included chillies powdered (41.42%), gur (5.67%), electricity for Q-1 (2.67%), sugar (1.16%) and LPG (0.05%). The commodities that witnessed an increase in prices on a YoY basis included onions (363.67%), tomatoes (64.74%), diesel (64.57%), packet tea (60.64%), pulse gram (54.71%), petrol (53.85%), salt powdered (53.26%), bananas (52.70%), gents’ sponge chappal (52.21%), pulse moong (50.45%), eggs (48.24%) and pulse mash (46.66%).

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk