Inflation based on the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the week ending January 23, 2024, rose by 0.52% year-on-year, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This marks the lowest year-on-year increase in seven years, according to brokerage firm Topline Securities. The rise is largely attributed to the increase in prices of Potatoes (44.30%), Pulse Gram (37.98%), Pulse Moong (32.67%), Powdered Milk (25.89%), Beef (22.37%), Vegetable Ghee 1Kg (16.87%), Garlic (16.28%), Gas Charges for Q1 (15.52%), Shirting (14.83%), Vegetable Ghee 2.5Kg (14.54%), and Firewood.
On the other hand, significant price drops were observed in Onions (51.59%), Eggs (39.15%), Tomatoes (37.43%), Wheat Flour (36.29%), Chilies Powder (20.00%), Electricity Charges for Q1 (18.11%), Pulse Masoor (11.01%), Pulse Mash (10.27%), Rice Basmati Broken (8.56%), Diesel (5.47%), LPG (1.79%), and Petrol (1.18%).
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On a week-on-week basis, SPI-based inflation decreased by 0.77%, primarily due to the price reductions in Tomatoes (32.99%), Eggs (10.23%), Onions (9.79%), Potatoes (7.37%), LPG (2.70%), Pulse Gram (1.61%), Chicken (1.00%), Pulse Mash (0.76%), and Gur (0.50%).
Out of the 51 items tracked during the week, prices of 14 items (27.45%) increased, 12 items (23.53%) decreased, and 25 items (49.02%) remained stable.
