Karachi, February 20, 2026 – Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in weekly inflation for the week ended February 19, 2026, impacting the daily expenses of citizens just as the holy month of Ramazan begins.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks price movements of 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 cities, rose by 1.16% during the week.
Major increases were recorded in bananas (16.05%), electricity charges for Q1 (15.41%), garlic (5.86%), chicken (5.49%), onions (3.83%), tomatoes (3.82%), diesel (2.69%), petrol (1.93%), and beef (1.03%).
Conversely, the prices of certain essential items saw declines, including eggs (11.78%), potatoes (2.24%), wheat flour (2.02%), pulse masoor (1.47%), and sugar (0.96%). Out of the 51 items tracked, 17 items (33%) increased, 12 items (23.5%) decreased, while the remaining 22 items (43%) stayed stable.
On a year-on-year basis, SPI showed an increase of 5.19%, driven by surges in tomatoes (85.2%), wheat flour (31.33%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), and electricity charges for Q1 (17.33%). Price declines were observed in potatoes (45.43%), garlic (27.51%), pulse gram (23.3%), and chicken (19.36%), among others.
PBS officials noted that the weekly SPI provides a short-term snapshot of price trends to help policymakers and consumers monitor inflation, particularly during critical periods such as Ramazan when demand for essential commodities rises.