Islamabad, July 26, 2024 – The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) inflation on a Year on Year (YoY) basis has surged by 20.09% for the week ending July 25, 2024, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The Sensitive Price Indicator, which tracks the prices of essential commodities, reflects a significant increase in inflation across various items. The most notable price hikes were seen in gas charges, which skyrocketed by 570.00%, and essential food items such as onions, which surged by 96.01%. Other significant increases included pulse gram at 40.39%, powdered milk at 39.11%, garlic at 34.61%, and pulse moong at 29.77%.
Additionally, the prices of gents sandals and shirting rose by 25.01% and 24.97%, respectively, while beef saw an increase of 23.52%. Other items experiencing considerable price hikes included salt powder at 23.28%, pulse mash at 22.50%, and energy savers at 17.96%.
Conversely, some commodities experienced price decreases. Wheat flour prices dropped by 31.75%, cooking oil (5 liters) decreased by 13.44%, and vegetable ghee (2.5 kg) fell by 10.42%. Vegetable ghee (1 kg) and mustard oil saw reductions of 9.85% and 8.33%, respectively. Eggs, rice basmati broken, and tea Lipton also recorded decreases of 5.82%, 4.15%, and 2.52% respectively.
For the week ending July 25, 2024, the Sensitive Price Indicator increased by 0.17%. The major contributors to this rise were the prices of chicken, which went up by 4.80%, garlic at 2.01%, and pulse gram at 1.87%. Eggs saw an increase of 1.71%, while beef rose by 0.93%. Other items with price increases included gur (jaggery) at 0.89%, pulse moong at 0.84%, fresh milk at 0.45%, firewood at 0.23%, and cigarettes at 0.12%.
On the downside, prices of tomatoes fell by 9.19%, onions decreased by 2.14%, and LPG dropped by 1.04%. Other items with decreased prices included bananas at 0.53%, wheat flour at 0.35%, potatoes at 0.17%, pulse masoor at 0.16%, and bread at 0.05%.
Out of the 51 items tracked, 19 items (37.25%) saw price increases, 8 items (15.69%) experienced price decreases, and 24 items (47.06%) remained stable during the week.
The Sensitive Price Indicator data underscores the ongoing inflationary pressures in Pakistan, with essential commodities experiencing significant price volatility. The government and stakeholders will need to address these fluctuations to manage the impact on consumers and stabilize the market.