ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended October 22, 2020 recorded a decrease of 0.23 percent over last week due to decline in some food items, ie, onions (4.75 percent), chicken (1.49 percent), wheat flour (1.31 percent), gur (1.26 percent), and sugar (0.39 percent).

According to the latest data, released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI went down from 141.36 points during the week ended October 15, 2020 to 141.04 points, during the week under review.

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 8.76 percent with most of the items increased mainly chilies powder (86.31 percent), potatoes (54.44 percent), eggs (45.02 percent), tomatoes (35.49 percent), sugar (34.42 percent), moong (31.89 percent), mash (31.41 percent), masoor (23.59 percent), chicken (19.49 percent), gur (18.55 percent), washing soap (18.49 percent), bread (18.20 percent), match box (17.67 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (17.33 percent) and rice Irri (17.14 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the price of diesel (18.03 percent), garlic (12.83 percent), LPG (9.13 percent), petrol (8.11 percent), onions (7.82 percent), and electricity (7.04 percent).

The weekly SPI covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 14 (27.45 percent) items increased, 11 (21.57 percent) items decreased, and 26 (50.98 percent) items remained constant, according to the provisional figures released by the PBS.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,733, from Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517, Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and above Rs44,175 per month decreased by 0.44 percent, 0.40 percent, 0.33 percent, 0.29 percent, and 0.13 percent, respectively.

The commodities, which recorded increase in their average price, include tomatoes (1.57 percent), tea prepared (1.43 percent), potatoes (one percent), LPG (0.73 percent), cooked beef (0.70 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.56 percent), bread plain (0.52 percent), milk fresh (0.49 percent), masoor (0.45 percent), mustard oil (0.36 percent), eggs (0.35 percent), cooked daal (0.31 percent), powdered milk (0.25 percent), and curd (0.21 percent).

The commodities, which recorded decrease in their average price, include onions (4.75 percent), chicken farm broiler (1.49 percent), wheat flour bag (1.31 percent), gur (1.26 percent), moong (1.03 percent), bananas (0.44 percent), sugar (0.39 percent), rice basmati broken (0.23 percent), garlic (0.14 percent), gram (0.03 percent), and mash (0.02 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020