The SPI inflation surged by 29.41 percent on week ending November 27 over the same period of last year because of sharp increase in the prices of some vegetables, meat and other commodities. Weekly figures on SPI inflation, released by the Federal Bureau of Statistic (FBS) on Friday, showed that after Rs 16 increase, the price of tomatoes per kilogram has gone up from Rs 35.71 to Rs 52.63 during the week.
Similarly, the price of dozen eggs has increased from Rs 65.83 to Rs 73.98 during the week. This is the second consecutive week that inflation has started resurging after a brief period of decline at the beginning of the month on the back of falling prices of commodities in the international market.
This trend in inflation shows that the tight monetary policy of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was not working to tame it. The SPI inflation re-surged from 27.91 percent to 29.41 percent during last two weeks, indicating that despite decline in some commodities prices in the global market, the prices of essential commodities have been on the rise. Though palm oil cost has declined substantially, the price of ghee and cooking oil has not been reduced.
The combined SPI after a surge of 0.32 percent during the week has gone from 29.02 percent last week to 29.41 percent this week. With this increase in the SPI, the dearness for the low income group bracketed in Rs 3000 was recorded 29.39 percent, followed by 29.85 percent for Rs 3001-5000 monthly income families. The dearness was counted 30.31 percent for the families earning monthly Rs 5001-12000 and 28.92 percent for above Rs 12000 income group.
The data on SPI released by FBS showed increase in the prices of 13 essential commodities, decline in 15 while the prices of 28 items remained stable but dearer with most of them in double digit as compared to last year.
The price of per kilogram tomatoes was increased during the week to Rs 52.63 from Rs 35.7, egg hen (farm) doz to Rs 73.98 from Rs 65.83, onions kg to Rs 26.87 from Rs 25.02, mash pulse washed kg to Rs 75.45 from Rs 74.82, potatoes kg to Rs 27.70 from Rs 27.53, electric bulb 60 watts each to Rs 13.97 from Rs 13.91,
firewood 40 kg to Rs 266.18 from Rs 265.06, bread plain medium size each to Rs 24.06 from Rs 23.97, mutton kg to Rs 257.13 from Rs 256.51, beef kg to Rs 142.24 from Rs 142.20.
The price of chicken (farm) kg declined during the week to Rs 92.12 from Rs 98.22, garlic kg to Rs 43.16 from Rs 44.15, bananas doz to Rs 31.25 from Rs 31.86, LPG (11 kg cylinder) each to Rs 819.97 from Rs 835.41, vegetable ghee loose kg to Rs 98.10 from Rs 99.93, red chillies kg to Rs 140.61 from Rs 143.03, sugar kg to Rs 35.10 from Rs 35.58, wheat flour average quality kg to Rs 26.72 from Rs 27.04, mustard oil kg to Rs 143.43 from Rs 144.76, wheat average quality kg to Rs 24.88 from Rs 25.06, gur to Rs 39.10 from Rs 39.34, rice basmati broken kg to Rs 48.46 from Rs 48.64, masoor pulse washed kg to Rs 128.81 from Rs 129.28, kerosene litre to Rs 68.28 from Rs 68.40, rice Irri-6 kg to Rs 38.54 from Rs 38.58.