Islamabad, June 16, 2023 – The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported a 0.2 percent increase in weekly prices of essential items for the week ending on June 15, 2023, compared to the previous week.
According to the data released by the PBS, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) recorded a rise of 0.20% during the current week. The price hike mainly affected food items such as sugar, gur, wheat flour, curd, pulse mash, garlic, milk fresh, and non-food item washing soap.
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Among the food items, sugar experienced a significant increase of 4.24%, followed by gur at 2.42%, wheat flour at 1.79%, curd at 1.59%, pulse mash at 1.25%, garlic at 1.15%, and fresh milk at 1.08%. Additionally, the price of washing soap, a non-food item, rose by 1.61%.
However, certain items witnessed a decrease in prices. Onions saw a significant decline of 7.56%, followed by bananas at 5.00%, eggs at 4.86%, LPG at 4.14%, pulse moong at 2.04%, pulse gram at 1.46%, vegetable ghee (1 kg) at 1.36%, chicken at 1.12%, mustard oil at 0.75%, cooking oil (5 liters) at 0.44%, pulse masoor at 0.42%, and vegetable ghee (2.5 kg) at 0.36%.
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Out of the 51 items considered, prices of 19 items (37.25%) increased, prices of 12 items (23.53%) decreased, and prices of 20 items (39.22%) remained stable during the week.
Analyzing the year-on-year trend, the report indicates a significant overall increase in prices. Notably, cigarettes experienced a staggering surge of 124.38%, followed by Lipton tea at 114.93%, wheat flour at 110.08%, gas charges for Q1 at 108.38%, rice basmati broken at 79.11%, rice irri-6/9 at 78.11%, potatoes at 67.44%, bananas at 67.33%, gents sponge chappal at 58.05%, pulse moong at 53.41%, bread at 52.36%, pulse mash at 52.32%, and powdered salt at 49.65%.
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However, some items did observe a decrease in prices on a year-on-year basis. Tomatoes experienced a decline of 29.71%, followed by onions at 17.94%, diesel at 3.89%, and pulse masoor at 0.91%.
These figures shed light on the current inflationary pressures faced by Pakistani consumers. The rising prices of essential items, particularly food products, can impact the cost of living and household budgets. Monitoring and addressing these inflationary trends are crucial for the government and policymakers to ensure the stability and affordability of essential goods in the country.
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