Islamabad, September 13, 2024 – The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has reported a notable decline in petroleum prices for September 2024, with diesel and petrol prices falling by 15.64% and 15.03% year-on-year (YoY), respectively.
This decrease reflects a significant shift in the country’s inflation landscape, as detailed in the latest inflation data released by the PBS on Friday.
According to the PBS, the decline in petroleum prices comes amid a broader mix of inflationary trends captured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI). For the week ending September 12, 2024, the SPI increased marginally by 0.01%. This uptick was driven by price hikes in several essential items. Tomatoes saw a sharp increase of 6.62%, while electricity charges for the first quarter of the year rose by 4.13%. Other items that experienced price increases included chicken (3.77%), pulse gram (2.43%), garlic (2.24%), beef (1.13%), mutton (0.71%), milk fresh (0.11%), curd (0.10%), georgette (0.06%), and shirting (0.04%).
Conversely, the PBS report also highlighted decreases in the prices of several goods. Bananas dropped by 6.04%, pulse mash fell by 1.33%, wheat flour decreased by 0.97%, and LPG saw a decline of 0.96%. Other items with reduced prices included eggs (0.91%), potatoes (0.80%), pulse masoor (0.59%), pulse moong (0.58%), onions (0.44%), and washing soap (0.22%).
The PBS said that out of the 51 items monitored during the week, 15 (29.41%) saw price increases, 14 (27.45%) experienced price decreases, and 22 (43.14%) remained stable.
The year-on-year trend for September 2024 reveals a complex inflationary picture. Significant price increases were observed in gas charges for Q1 (up 570.00%), onions (88.26%), pulse gram (55.76%), and powered milk (25.72%). In contrast, there were notable price reductions in wheat flour (down 38.54%), chili powder (20.00%), diesel (15.64%), and petrol (15.03%). Other items with decreased prices included sugar (13.98%), electricity charges for Q1 (13.47%), cooking oil (10.90%), rice basmati broken (9.99%), gur (8.79%), pulse masoor (8.13%), and vegetable ghee (6.72%).
This diverse inflation data underscores the ongoing volatility in commodity prices and highlights the challenges faced by both consumers and policymakers in navigating the current economic environment. The significant drop in petroleum prices may provide some relief, but the broader inflationary pressures continue to impact various sectors of the economy.
