February CPI inflation up 7.93 percent YoY

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation increased by 7.93 percent during February 2014, as compared to the same period last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed. PBS Director Price, Shaukat Zaman Butt addressing a press conference on Monday said CPI inflation witnessed an increase of 8.65 percent in July-February 2013-14 over July-February 2012-13, while it decreased by 0.32 percent in February 2014 over January 2014.
According to monthly inflation report released by the PBS in February 2014, the CPI decreased by 0.32 percent, Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) by 0.09 percent and 0.14 percent over January 2014, respectively. The PBS collected the retail and the wholesale prices and computed the CPI, WPI on a monthly basis while SPI on a weekly basis. Analysis of the CPI data released by the PBS showed that prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages soared to 7.04 percent during February 2014, over the same period last year and prices of non-perishable food items recorded an increase of 6.90 percent, while perishable food items rose by 8.03 percent.
The cost of alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased by 16.01 percent during the period under review, clothing and footwear 11.62 percent, housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels 9.27 percent, furnishing and household equipment maintenance 8.80 percent, health 6.01 percent, transport 4.77 percent, communication 0.92 percent, recreation and culture 9.63 percent, education 8.12 percent, restaurant and hotels 12.56 percent while prices of miscellaneous items surged by 4.79 percent.
The food and non-food items that witnessed significant rise in their prices during February 2014 over February 2013 included: potatoes (35.38 percent), fresh vegetables (22.58 percent), pulse masoor (19.20 percent), wheat (18.18 percent), pulse moong (18.15 percent), wheat products (17.67 percent), wheat flour (16.41 percent), cigarettes (16.20 percent), onions (15.37 percent), eggs (14.57 percent), beans (14.05 percent), readymade food (12.56 percent), milk powder (11.28 percent) and bakery & confectionary (11.13 percent), postal services (23.66 percent), cosmetics (19.14 percent), electricity (15.82 percent), sewing needle & dry cell (15.78 percent), text books (15.60 percent), tailoring (13.53 percent), cotton cloth (13.10 percent), woolen readymade garments (12.96 percent), doctor (mbbs) clinic fee (12.76 percent), readymade garments (12.00 percent), cleaning & laundry (11.52 percent) and utensils (11.42 percent).
About the core inflation in CPI, Shaukat Zaman Butt said a trimmed core inflation was observed as 8.1 percent during February 2014 over February 2013, while it was 9.2 percent during February 2013 over February 2012. Butt maintained that the non-food and non-energy core inflation was observed at 7.8 percent during February 2014 over the same period last year, while it stood at 9.6 percent during February 2013 over February 2012. He said food and non-food items that witnessed significant increase in their prices during July-February 2013-14.