Higher energy and food prices push Pakistan’s weekly inflation to 9.66% year-on-year, while onion prices record the sharpest annual increase.
ISLAMABAD: Weekly inflation in Pakistan rose 9.66% year-on-year (YoY) during the week ended August 20, 2026, as higher energy and food prices continued to put pressure on household budgets, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which measures short-term price movements of essential commodities, increased 0.49% week-on-week (WoW) during the period under review.
The SPI covers 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities across Pakistan.
Weekly inflation rises across income groups
According to consumption quintiles, the highest year-on-year increase was recorded for the second quintile (Q2) at 10.36%, followed by Q1 at 9.87%, Q5 at 9.33%, Q4 at 9.10% and Q3 at 9.03%.
On a weekly basis, inflation increased by 0.38% for Q1, 0.41% for Q2, 0.40% for Q3, 0.45% for Q4 and 0.55% for Q5.
The figures show that households across all income groups faced higher prices during the week, with the largest weekly increase recorded for the highest consumption quintile.
Onion, petrol and chicken prices increase
Several essential commodities recorded significant weekly price increases.
The largest weekly increase was recorded in onion prices, which surged 14.17%. Petrol prices increased by 3.77%, while chicken prices rose 3.35%.
Other increases included garlic at 2.00%, pulse gram at 0.93%, prepared tea at 0.70%, Lipton tea at 0.34% and fresh milk at 0.17%.
Prices of cooked daal, washing soap, cigarettes and shirting also edged higher during the week.
Meanwhile, some essential commodities became cheaper. Egg prices fell 5.78%, while diesel declined 5.15% and tomatoes dropped 4.99%.
Potatoes fell 1.17%, LPG 1.04%, bananas 0.91%, pulse moong 0.56% and sugar 0.24%. Prices of pulse masoor and pulse mash declined by 0.14%.
Of the 51 items monitored under the SPI, 23 items, or 45.10%, recorded price increases, while 10 items, or 19.61%, became cheaper. Prices of the remaining 18 items, or 35.29%, remained unchanged.
Onion, flour and energy prices surge annually
The year-on-year data showed particularly sharp increases in several essential commodities.
Onion prices surged 132.52% YoY, while tomatoes increased 93.21% and wheat flour rose 62.25%.
Among energy products, LPG prices increased 51.69%, followed by diesel at 33.08% and petrol at 27.65%.
Electricity prices for consumers in the first consumption slab increased 22.72% compared with the same week last year.
Other notable annual increases included bananas at 17.66%, chilli powder at 16.37%, mutton at 15.98%, beef at 13.54% and plain bread at 9.37%.
Several food prices decline year-on-year
Despite the overall increase in weekly inflation, several commodities recorded lower prices compared with the same period last year.
Potato prices declined 30.01% YoY, while sugar prices fell 19.10%, chicken 17.68% and eggs 17.41%.
Salt powder prices decreased 13.96%, pulse gram 13.02%, pulse masoor 12.29% and gur 6.01%.
The latest PBS data shows that rising energy costs and sharp increases in several essential food items continue to drive inflationary pressures, even as lower prices for some commodities provide partial relief to consumers.