The Sensitive Price Indicator declined slightly in the week ended October 15, as lower tomato, onion and banana prices offset increases in flour, chicken and pulses.

Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), decreased by 0.04% in the week ended October 15, 2026, while the year-on-year increase stood at 11.38%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The latest figures show a mixed trend in essential commodity prices, with declines in several food items and fuel partly offset by increases in other household necessities.

The SPI measures short-term price movements of 51 essential commodities collected from 50 markets across 17 cities in Pakistan. It is calculated weekly to assess changes in the cost of essential goods.

Prices of tomatoes, onions and bananas decline

During the week, tomato prices fell by 23.05%, while onions declined by 4.90% and bananas by 2.59%.

Other items recording price decreases included petrol, down 0.70%, broken basmati rice, down 0.65%, sugar, down 0.62%, and gur, down 0.36%.

However, prices of several essential items increased. Gram pulse recorded the largest weekly rise of 4.97%, followed by wheat flour at 3.36% and chicken at 3.31%.

Egg prices increased by 0.99%, while mash pulse rose by 0.98% and masoor pulse by 0.95%. Firewood, shirting, cooked daal, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and prepared tea also recorded increases.

According to the PBS, prices of 23 items, representing 45.10% of the basket, increased during the week. Seven items, or 13.72%, became cheaper, while prices of 21 items, accounting for 41.18%, remained unchanged.

Onion, LPG and electricity record major annual increases

On a year-on-year basis, onions recorded the largest increase at 75.19%, followed by LPG at 68.95% and electricity charges for the first quarter at 58.59%.

Petrol prices increased by 49.60%, while diesel rose by 43.98%. Wheat flour recorded a 35.13% increase, and chicken prices climbed by 20.77%.

Annual increases were also reported for powdered chillies, mutton, beef, plain bread and prepared tea.

In contrast, tomato prices declined by 63.65% year-on-year, while potatoes fell by 39.93% and sugar by 23.20%. Egg prices decreased by 19.83%, with lower prices also recorded for powdered salt, masoor pulse, gur and moong pulse.

The figures indicate that although weekly prices edged lower, households continued to face higher costs for several essential commodities compared with the same period last year.