Irfan Ahmed

Weekly inflation on the sensitive price index (SPI) has gone up by 0.74% for the combined consumption group for this week ending on November 10, over the preceding week. The SPI touched the high of 216.48 points against 214.88 points registered in the previous week, according to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 29.34%. The weekly SPI with base year 2015-16 is covering 17 urban centers and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to PKR17,732 witnessed a 1.11% increase and went up to 225.03 points from last week’s 222.55 points.

Meanwhile, the SPI for the consumption groups from PKR17,732-22,888; PKR22,889-29,517; PKR29,518-44,175 and above PKR44,175 witnessed an increase of 1%, 0.87%, 0.80% and 0.61% respectively. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 22 (43.14%) items increased, 14 (24.45%) items decreased and 15 (29.41%) items remained stable.The items which recorded a decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week (WoW) basis included tomatoes (6.37%), pulse gram (2.02%), pulse masoor (1.50%), pulse moong (0.90%), cooking oil 5 liter (0.89%), gur (0.72%), vegetable ghee 1-kg (0.63%), vegetable ghee 2.5-kg (0.56%), wheat flour (0.30%), LPG (0.26%) and garlic (0.24%).

The commodities which recorded an increase in their average prices included onions (27.16%), potatoes (5.31%), tea Lipton (4.62%), bananas (4.38%), sugar (3.60%), eggs (2.13%), chicken (1.98%), long cloth 57” (1.21%) and firewood (1.21%).On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the commodities that witnessed a decrease in prices included chilies powder (41.85%), sugar (8.90%), gur (6.87%), electricity for Q-1 (2.67%) and LPG (0.25%). The commodities that witnessed an increase in prices on a YoY basis included onions (292.30%), diesel (64.57%), pulse gram (59.69%), pulse moong (54.66%), petrol (53.85%), gents sponge chappal (52.21%), bananas (52.18%), tea packet (50.39%), washing soap (50.37%), pulse mash (49.58%), cooking oil 5 liter (46.71%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (46.02%) and salt powdered & pulse masoor (45.03%).

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk