Weekly inflation rises 11.92 percent year on year as electricity, LPG and petroleum prices add to household cost pressures.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s weekly inflation accelerated to 11.92 percent year on year (YoY) during the week ended September 24, 2026, as higher energy and essential commodity prices continued to put pressure on household budgets.
According to the latest data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) increased 0.99 percent week on week (WoW) during the week under review.
The SPI measures short-term price movements in 51 essential commodities collected from 50 markets in 17 cities. PBS uses the indicator to monitor weekly changes in the prices of essential goods.
Electricity prices lead weekly increase
Energy prices emerged as a major source of pressure during the week, with electricity charges for consumers in the lowest consumption category (Q1) increasing 18.76 percent.
Egg prices rose 2.02 percent, while garlic and LPG became 1.57 percent and 1.55 percent more expensive, respectively.
Prices of masoor pulse increased 0.75 percent, chicken 0.72 percent and washing soap 0.59 percent.
Gram pulse, mutton, beef, curd, fresh milk and wheat flour also recorded increases during the week.
Tomato and potato prices fall
Several food items, however, recorded weekly price declines.
Tomato prices dropped 13.45 percent, while potato prices decreased 8.33 percent and bananas fell 5.66 percent.
Onion prices declined 2.42 percent, while diesel fell 1.57 percent. Powdered salt and petrol prices decreased 0.90 percent and 0.34 percent, respectively.
Sugar, mustard oil and gur also recorded marginal declines.
Of the 51 commodities monitored under the SPI, prices of 20 items increased, 10 decreased and 21 remained unchanged.
The previous PBS release, for the week ended September 17, had recorded a 0.49 percent weekly increase and 10.64 percent YoY rise in the combined SPI.
Annual inflation remains elevated
The annual comparison shows particularly sharp increases in several essential commodities.
Onion prices increased 115.98 percent YoY, while LPG prices surged 63.97 percent.
Electricity prices for Q1 consumers rose 58.59 percent, while diesel and petrol prices increased 51.80 percent and 47.49 percent, respectively.
Wheat flour prices climbed 32.41 percent, adding further pressure to household food expenditure.
Other significant annual increases included gents’ sponge chappals at 16.69 percent, powdered chillies at 16.37 percent, mutton at 15.75 percent and beef at 13.22 percent.
Firewood prices rose 10.72 percent, while plain bread, shirting, washing soap and fresh milk increased 8.96 percent, 8.38 percent, 8.36 percent and 8.10 percent, respectively.
Highest consumption group records 12.31% rise
Inflation remained elevated across all five consumption groups.
The SPI increased 9.69 percent YoY for the lowest consumption quintile (Q1), 11.37 percent for Q2 and 9.85 percent for Q3.
The fourth consumption group recorded a 10.20 percent increase, while the highest consumption group (Q5) experienced the largest annual rise at 12.31 percent.
On a weekly basis, Q2 recorded the largest increase at 1.28 percent, followed by Q1 and Q5 at 0.85 percent each, Q3 at 0.81 percent and Q4 at 0.62 percent.
Some essential items become cheaper
Despite the overall increase in weekly and annual inflation, several commodities recorded lower prices than a year earlier.
Potato prices declined 39.21 percent YoY, while sugar fell 21.14 percent and tomatoes decreased 19.81 percent.
Egg prices dropped 18.40 percent and powdered salt declined 14.73 percent.
Gram, masoor and moong pulse prices decreased 11.65 percent, 10.47 percent and 7.89 percent, respectively.
Gur prices fell 7.30 percent, while IRRI-6/9 rice declined 3.28 percent.
Garlic and chicken prices were 3.03 percent and 2.51 percent lower, respectively, while broken basmati rice recorded a marginal 0.33 percent decline.
Energy costs remain key source of pressure
The latest SPI figures show that energy-related price increases are contributing significantly to the annual inflation burden, particularly through electricity, LPG and petroleum products.
The rise comes after the previous week also recorded substantial increases in diesel, petrol and LPG prices, according to PBS data.
With weekly inflation approaching 12 percent, the latest figures highlight continued pressure on household purchasing power, while the divergent movements in food and energy prices point to significant variation across individual commodities.