SPI climbs 13.09% year-on-year as food and energy costs continue to pressure household budgets

KARACHI: Pakistan’s weekly inflation accelerated by 1.40% during the week ended July 16, 2026, as sharp increases in the prices of tomatoes, chicken, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and petroleum products pushed up the cost of essential household items, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined consumption group rose to 357.61 points, compared with 352.66 points a week earlier. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, weekly inflation increased 13.09%, reflecting continued pressure on consumers from rising food and energy prices.

The SPI, based on 2015-16=100, measures weekly price movements of 51 essential commodities across 17 urban centres and covers households in different income brackets.

Inflation rises across all income groups

The PBS data showed that weekly inflation increased across every income category during the review period.

The SPI for households earning up to Rs17,732 per month rose 1.11% to 346.78 points, up from 342.98 points in the previous week.

Other income groups also recorded increases:

Rs17,733–22,888: up 1.18%

Rs22,889–29,517: up 1.17%

Rs29,518–44,175: up 1.28%

Above Rs44,175: up 1.58%

The figures indicate that inflationary pressures continued to affect households across all income levels.

Tomatoes, chicken and LPG drive weekly inflation

Out of the 51 commodities monitored by the PBS, prices of 27 items (52.94%) increased during the week, while four items (7.84%) became cheaper and 20 items (39.22%) remained unchanged.

The largest weekly price increases were recorded for:

Tomatoes: 22.79%

Chicken: 14.66%

LPG: 12.46%

Diesel: 4.41%

Petrol: 4.40%

Garlic: 3.72%

Eggs: 2.15%

Lipton tea: 1.56%

Onions: 1.53%

Potatoes: 0.85%

Prepared tea: 0.42%

Firewood: 0.18%

Meanwhile, a handful of commodities recorded weekly price declines, including:

Bananas: down 0.80%

Pulse moong: down 0.70%

Sugar: down 0.36%

Pulse masoor: down 0.10%

Tomato prices soar more than 210% year-on-year

On an annual basis, tomatoes registered the sharpest increase among all commodities, surging 210.18% compared with the corresponding week last year.

Other significant year-on-year increases included:

Onions: 75.93%

Wheat flour: 71.81%

Electricity charges (Q1): 49.14%

LPG: 42.50%

Gas charges (Q1): 29.85%

Gents sponge chappal: 16.69%

Mutton: 16.02%

Chilli powder: 15.20%

Beef: 13.60%

Bananas: 10.82%

Bread: 9.69%

The data underscores persistent inflationary pressure on essential food items and household utilities.

Some essentials remain cheaper than a year ago

Despite the overall increase in inflation, several essential commodities were cheaper than during the same period last year.

Among the largest annual declines were:

Potatoes: down 36.28%

Pulse gram: down 21.71%

Sugar: down 21.10%

Chicken: down 16.71%

Salt powder: down 14.09%

Pulse masoor: down 13.19%

Eggs: down 12.42%

Pulse moong: down 8.08%

The latest SPI figures indicate that rising food and energy prices continue to drive short-term inflation in Pakistan, placing additional pressure on household budgets. Economists expect inflation trends in the coming weeks to depend largely on domestic fuel prices, seasonal food supplies and international commodity markets, particularly amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty affecting global energy prices.