Islamabad, October 24, 2025 – Pakistan’s weekly inflation has once again inched upward, defying expectations of relief following a sharp reduction in fuel prices.
According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) rose by 0.22% on a week-on-week (WoW) basis for the period ending October 23, 2025.
The SPI, which tracks the price movement of 51 essential consumer goods from 50 markets in 17 major cities, serves as a vital gauge for short-term inflation trends. Despite lower petroleum prices, the cost of several food and household items continued to climb during the week.
Items showing the highest price increases included onions (up 5.62%), energy savers (2.51%), eggs (2.38%), sugar (2.04%), and firewood (1.17%). Moderate hikes were also observed in garlic, bananas, powdered milk, beef, and cooking oil. Conversely, notable decreases were recorded in chicken (-2.51%), rice IRRI-6/9 (-1.19%), pulse moong (-0.65%), LPG (-0.12%), and wheat flour (-0.01%).
Out of the 51 tracked commodities, prices of 20 items rose, 6 items fell, while 25 remained stable. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the SPI showed a notable increase of 5.03%, driven by sharp rises in the prices of tomatoes (120.94%), ladies sandals (55.62%), sugar (40.82%), and gas charges (29.85%).
Despite the government’s recent Rs5.66 per liter cut in petrol prices—effective from October 16, 2025—the overall inflationary pressure remains high. Experts believe that supply chain inefficiencies, global commodity volatility, and seasonal demand are keeping essential prices elevated, dampening the impact of lower fuel costs on consumers.