Weekly inflation increases by 0.37%

The Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group increased by 0.37% WoW during the week ended December 28, 2023, while the SPI increased by 43.25% YoY compared to the corresponding period from last year.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the Combined Index was at 311.14 compared to 310 on December 21, 2023, while the index was recorded at 217.2 a year ago, on December 29, 2022.

Out of 51 items, the average price of 15 items increased, 09 items decreased, and 27 items remained stable.

During the week, the major was observed in the prices of Onions (15.21%), Chicken (4.76%), Pulse Moong (2.90%), Pulse Gram (2.89%), and Sugar (1.35%).

On the other hand, the major decrease was observed in the prices of Potatoes (8.66%), Tomatoes (1.01%), Vegetable Ghee 2.5 KG (0.61%), Cooking Oil 5 Litre (0.44%), and Eggs (0.40%).

The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 0.35% and 0.41%.

The Lowest Income Group witnessed a weekly rise of 0.4% while the highest income group recorded a rise of 0.35%.

On a yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 35.75% and 46.99%.

Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 35.75% while the highest income group recorded an increase of 41.6%.

The average price of Sona urea continued to surge and was recorded at Rs4,617 per 50 kg bag which is 2.77% higher than last week’s price and 75.86% higher when compared to last year.

To note, Sona urea also recorded an increase of 1.23% last week.

Meanwhile, the average Cement price was recorded at Rs1,232 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.31% lower than the previous week and 18.07% higher than prices last year.