Pakistan’s weekly inflation gauge increased 0.65% in the week ended September 3, while onion prices jumped 26.30% in a week and 162.75% over the year.
ISLAMABAD: Inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) increased 0.65% week-on-week during the week ended September 3, 2026, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The SPI tracks weekly price movements of essential commodities to measure changes in the cost of living at shorter intervals. The indicator covers 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities across the country.
Inflation rises across all consumption groups
The highest week-on-week increase was recorded for the lowest consumption quintile (Q1) at 0.91%, followed by Q2 at 0.83%.
Inflation increased by 0.71% for Q3, 0.68% for Q4 and 0.58% for Q5.
On a year-on-year basis, overall SPI inflation increased 8.35%.
The year-on-year increase stood at 7.59% for Q1, 8.20% for Q2, 7.19% for Q3, 7.43% for Q4 and 8.47% for Q5.
Onions drive weekly inflation increase
According to PBS data, onion prices recorded the largest weekly increase, rising by 26.30%.
Other commodities that became more expensive during the week included:
• Tomatoes: 2.55%
• Potatoes: 0.96%
• Petrol: 0.90%
• Wheat flour: 0.88%
• Chicken: 0.85%
• Pulse Mash: 0.67%
• Garlic: 0.18%
• Mustard oil: 0.13%
• Diesel: 0.09%
Several essential commodities recorded price declines during the week.
Bananas registered the largest decrease at 2.54%, followed by Pulse Moong at 0.69% and LPG at 0.45%.
Sugar prices declined by 0.18%, eggs by 0.11%, Pulse Gram by 0.06% and Gur by 0.05%.
Of the 51 items included in the SPI basket, prices of 17 items increased, seven decreased and 27 remained unchanged during the week.
Onion prices jump 162.75% year-on-year
On a year-on-year basis, onion prices recorded the largest increase, surging 162.75%.
LPG prices increased by 53.61%, while diesel rose 37.70% and petrol by 31.01%.
Other significant year-on-year increases were recorded in:
• Electricity for Q1: 25.24%
• Wheat flour: 16.86%
• Chilli powder: 16.37%
• Bananas: 16.07%
• Mutton: 16.03%
• Beef: 13.31%
• Fresh milk: 8.21%
• Plain bread: 8.09%
Several essential items become cheaper
Despite the overall increase in weekly and annual inflation, several essential commodities were cheaper than a year earlier.
Potato prices fell 31.61%, followed by chicken at 23.50%, sugar at 19.38% and eggs at 18.18%.
Salt powder prices declined by 13.96%, while Pulse Gram fell 12.95%, Pulse Masoor 12.16% and Pulse Moong 7.19%.
Overall, PBS data showed that weekly SPI inflation increased 0.65%, while the annual increase remained elevated at 8.35% in the week ended September 3, 2026.