April CPI inflation surges 13.4pc YoY

ISLAMABAD: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation increased by 13.4 percent on year-on-year basis in April 2022 as compared to an increase of 12.7 percent in the previous month and 11.1 percent in April 2021, says Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Inflation in ten months of the current fiscal year 2021-22 averaged 11.01 percent against 8.62 percent during the same period of last year.

According to the PBS data, the prices of food and non-food items including fruits, cooking oil/ghee, milk, meat, wheat flour, basen, vegetables, pulses, construction input items, chemicals, cement, and hosiery products increased.

As per the monthly review of price indices by the PBS, on month-on-month basis, CPI increased by 1.6 percent in April 2022 as compared to increase of 0.8 percent in the previous month and increase of 1.0 percent in April 2021.

The CPI inflation Urban, increased by 12.2 percent on year-on-year basis in April 2022 as compared to an increase of 11.9 percent in the previous month and 11.0 percent in April 2021. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.6 percent in April 2022 as compared to increase of 0.7 percent in the previous month and increase of 1.3 percent in April 2021.

March: Pakistan’s inflation reading rises to 12.7%

The CPI inflation rural, increased by 15.1 percent on year-on-year basis in April 2022 as compared to an increase of 13.9 percent in the previous month and 11.3 percent in April 2021. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.6 percent in April 2022 as compared to increase of 1.0 percent in the previous month and increase of 0.6 percent in April 2021.

The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) inflation on YoY increased by 14.2 percent in April 2022 as compared to an increase of 13.0 percent a month earlier and an increase of 21.3 percent in April 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 1.5 percent in April 2022 as compared to increase of 0.6 percent a month earlier and increase of 0.4 percent in April 2021.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on YoY basis increased by 28.1 percent in April 2022 as compared to an increase of 23.8 percent a month earlier and an increase of 16.6 percent in April 2021. WPI inflation on MoM basis increased by 3.2 percent in April 2022 as compared to increase of 3.9 percent a month earlier and a decrease of -0.4 percent in corresponding month i.e. April 202.

Measured by non-food non-energy Urban increased by 9.1 percent on YoY basis in April, 2022 as compared to an increase of 8.9 percent in the previous month and 7.0 percent in April, 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 1.1 percent in April, 2022 as compared to increase of 1.2 percent in previous month, and an increase of 0.9 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. April, 2021.

Measured by non-food non-energy Rural increased by 10.9 percent on YoY basis in April, 2022 as compared to an increase of 10.3 percent in the previous month and 7.7 percent in April, 2021.

On MoM basis, it increased by 1.2 percent in April, 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.1 percent in previous month, and an increase of 0.7 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. April, 2021.

Measured by 20 percent weighted trimmed mean Urban increased by 10.5 percent on YoY basis in April, 2022 as compared to 10.5 percent in the previous month and 9.8 percent in April, 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 0.9 percent in April, 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.8 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.6 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. April, 2021.

Measured by 20 percent weighted trimmed mean Rural increased by 12.8 percent on YoY basis in April, 2022 as compared to 11.7 percent in the previous month and by 10.6 percent in April, 2021. On MoM basis, it

increased by 0.9 percent in April, 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.8 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.2 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. April, 2021.

Top few commodities, which varied from previous month and contributed to Urban CPI among food which registered increase are tomatoes (51.53 percent), onions (42.83 percent), fruits (21.07 percent), vegetables (14.41 percent), cooking oil (11.35 percent), vegetable ghee (8.26 percent), gram whole (5.67 percent), wheat flour (3.45 percent), meat (3.25 percent), mustard oil (2.31 percent), potatoes (1.43 percent), milk (1.27 percent) and pulse masoor (1.13 percent) and decreased among chicken (9.40 percent), gur (1.23 percent) and sugar (0.70 percent).

Among non-food which increased included tailoring (6.37 percent), motor vehicles (5.42 percent), hosiery (4.41 percent), household equipments (3.88 percent), cotton cloth (2.05 percent), construction input items (1.84 percent), readymade garments (1.37 percent), washing soap/detergents/match box (1.36 percent) and furniture & furnishing (0.95 percent) and decreased among electricity charges (7.84 percent), liquefied hydrocarbons (3.75 percent) and solid fuel (1 percent).

YoY top few commodities which varied from corresponding month of previous year i.e. April, 2021 among food which increased are tomatoes (124.68 percent), mustard oil (61.72 percent), onions (61.64 percent), cooking oil (60.07 percent), vegetable ghee (58.71 percent), pulse masoor (40.29 percent), gram whole (30.85 percent), fruits (30.64 percent), meat (25.64 percent), vegetables (19.15 percent), wheat flour (18.34 percent) and wheat (14.69 percent), decreased among pulse moong (25.94 percent), potatoes (20.73 percent), eggs (19.42 percent), condiments & spices (16.31 percent) and sugar (9.67%).

Among non-food which increased included Liquefied Hydrocarbons (78.96 percent), motor fuel (39.23 percent), cleaning & laundering (23.65 percent), washing soap/detergents/match box (17.22 percent), motor vehicles (16.16 percent), motor vehicle accessories (15.95 percent), household equipments (15.06 percent) and hosiery (12.51 percent) and decreased among electricity charges (1.53 percent).

The top few commodities, which varied from the previous month and contributed to Rural CPI and which increased among food items are tomatoes (62.18 percent), onions (50.38 percent), fruits (26.47 percent), vegetables (6.27 percent), vegetable ghee

(5.60 percent), gram whole (5.48 percent), beans (3.64 percent), pulse masoor(2.98 percent), rice (2.72 percent), cooking oil (2.54 percent), mustard oil (2.46 percent), meat (2.41 percent), besan (2.27 percent) and pulse mash (1.17 percent) and decreased among chicken (9.26 percent), eggs (4.51 percent), wheat (2.44 percent), pulse moong (1.52 percent) and sugar (1.48 percent).

Among non-food items which increased are cotton cloth (3.95 percent), hosiery (2.47 percent), household equipments (2.42 percent), construction input items (2.30 percent), furniture & furnishing (1.39 percent), plastic products (1.36 percent), readymade garments (1.20 percent), motor vehicles (1.17 percent) and washing soaps/detergents/match box (1.16 percent) and decreased among electricity charges (7.84 percent) and Liquefied Hydrocarbons (0.34 percent).

Year on year top few commodities which varied from corresponding month of previous year i.e. April 2021 among food items and increased are

tomatoes (169.87 percent), onions (77.72 percent), cooking oil (63.94 percent), vegetable ghee (62.22 percent), mustard oil (59.23 percent), pulse masoor (45.3 percent), gram whole (39.49 percent), fruits (39.2 percent), vegetables

(27.14 percent), meat (26.19 percent), beans (21.49 percent), wheat flour (18.82 percent), besan (16.3 percent) and wheat (14.10 percent) and decreased among pulse moong (26.93 percent), eggs (19.50 percent), potatoes (18.97 percent), condiments & spices (14.82 percent) and sugar (8.09 percent).

Among non-food items which increased are Liquefied Hydrocarbons (64.64 percent), motor fuels (38.47 percent), washing soaps/fetergents/match box (20.15 percent), cleaning & laundering (19.86 percent), construction input items (18.28 percent), motor vehicles accessories (17.28 percent), hosiery (17.04 percent), solid fuel (15.74 percent), woolen readymade garments (15.03 percent) and furniture & furnishing (14.58 percent) and decreased among electricity charges (1.53 percent).

Top few commodities which varied from previous month and contributed to the WPI inflation and increased included increased fruits (32.18 percent), furnace oil (19.81 percent), tobacco products (16.23 percent), vegetables (15.87 percent), hides/skins/fur skins (10.71 percent), cement (9.24 percent), air conditioners (8.77 percent), motor vehicles (8.65 percent), chemicals (8 percent), fabrics (7.47 percent), fertilizers (7.01 percent), vegetable ghee (3.95 percent), steel bar and sheets (3.01 percent), fibre crops (2.45 percent), pulses (2.17 percent), motorcycles (2 percent) and mobil oil (1.70 percent) and decreased among poultry (7.40 percent), potatoes (5.73 percent), electrical energy (4.78 percent), fuel wood (1.82 percent), jowar (1 percent) and sugar (0.97 percent). YoY top few commodities which varied from previous year and increased included furnace oil (107.43 percent), fibre crops (81.34 percent), cultivators (68.18 percent), vegetable ghee (67.18 percent), oil seeds (65.83 percent), concrete mixture (63.24 percent), chemicals (61.54 percent), coal (57.42 percent), vegetables (56 percent), kerosene oil (54.96 percent), steel bar & sheets (51.60 percent), fertilizers (48.12 percent), vegetable oils (41.85 percent), diesel (41.01 percent), motor spirit (40.38 percent), fruits (37.17 percent), cement (34.72 percent), air conditioners (32.71 percent), tractors (30.77 percent), bed foam (28.95 percent) and motorcycles (23.92 percent) and decreased among spices (35.75 percent), stimulant/spice crops (30.92 percent), potatoes (25.24 percent), eggs (23.32 percent), sugar (5.76 percent) and maize (4.15 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022