Higher LPG, diesel, petrol and electricity prices offset declines in tomatoes, chicken and other food items.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s weekly inflation edged up during the week ended August 27, 2026, as higher prices of energy products, particularly LPG, diesel and petrol, outweighed declines in several essential food items.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) increased 0.05% week on week during the period under review.
The SPI tracks short-term price movements of 51 essential commodities collected from 50 markets across 17 cities.
The latest increase was primarily driven by a 3.46% rise in LPG prices, while diesel prices increased 2.44%. Electricity charges for the first consumption slab rose 2.06%, while petrol prices increased 1.71%.
Among other commodities, Pulse Gram prices rose 0.88%, wheat flour 0.39%, eggs 0.34%, mustard oil and Pulse Masoor 0.30% each, prepared tea 0.20%, Pulse Mash 0.17% and beef 0.06%.
Food prices provide some relief
The increase in energy prices was partly offset by declines in several food items during the week.
Tomato prices recorded the largest weekly decline, falling 18.65%, followed by chicken at 4.41%, onions at 2.87%, bananas at 2.80% and garlic at 1.02%.
Prices of IRRI-6/9 rice declined 0.42%, Basmati broken rice 0.41% and potatoes 0.39%.
Of the 51 items monitored under the SPI, prices of 20 items, or 39.22%, increased during the week. Prices of 11 items, or 21.56%, declined, while the remaining 20 items, or 39.22%, remained unchanged.
Annual inflation remains above 9%
On a year-on-year basis, the SPI increased 9.04% during the week ended August 27, highlighting continued pressure on household budgets.
Onion prices recorded the highest annual increase, surging 125.86% compared with the same week last year.
LPG prices rose 55.66% year on year, while wheat flour became 45.28% more expensive. Tomato prices increased 36.69% and diesel prices rose 36.33%.
Petrol prices were 29.84% higher than a year earlier, while electricity charges for the first consumption slab increased 25.24%.
Other notable annual increases were recorded in chilli powder at 16.37%, mutton at 16.01%, bananas at 14.50%, beef at 13.61% and plain bread at 9.37%.
However, several essential food items recorded significant year-on-year declines.
Potato prices fell 31.33%, chicken declined 23.87% and sugar prices dropped 19.33%. Egg prices decreased 17.97%, while salt powder fell 13.96%.
Pulse Gram prices declined 12.01% year on year, Pulse Masoor 11.77% and Gur 6.21%.
Inflation varies across income groups
The annual SPI increase varied across consumption groups.
The lowest-income group recorded an 8.76% increase, while the second quintile saw inflation rise 9.35%.
The third and fourth quintiles recorded increases of 8.15% and 8.28%, respectively, while the highest consumption group experienced an 8.91% increase.
The latest data indicates that although falling prices of several food commodities provided some relief, persistent increases in energy-related costs continued to keep overall weekly inflation under pressure.