ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended on January 28, 2021 recorded an increase of 0.52 percent over last week due to rise in prices of food items inducing i.e. chicken (14.81 percent), chilies powder (9.40 percent), cooking oil (4.11 percent), vegetable ghee (3.83 percent), mustard oil (1.38 percent), and among non-food items, washing soap (2.15 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 140.15 points during the week ended January 21, 2021 to 140.88 points during the week under review.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.29 percent) items increased, nine (17.64 percent) items decreased, and 24 (47.06 percent) items remained constant, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.
The PBS data further stated that the year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 7.48 percent with most of the items increased mainly chilies powder National (122.97 percent), match box (25.39 percent), mustard oil (22.09 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (21.85 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (20.67 percent), eggs (20.20 percent), cooking oil 5 liter (18.69 percent), washing soap and long cloth (16.07 percent), shirting (15.32 percent), rice irri 6/9 (14.77 percent), bread plain (14.47 percent), sugar (14.22 percent) and curd (13.03 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the price of tomatoes (29.37 percent), onions (25.58 percent), garlic (20.26 percent), pulse gram (12.18 percent), potatoes (11.18 percent), diesel (10.99 percent), LPG (9.87 percent), petrol (6.32 percent), electricity for Q1 (3.82 percent), and moong (0.91 percent).
The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,733, from Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517 and Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and above Rs44,175 per month increased by 0.43 percent, 0.51 percent, 0.53 percent, 0.56 percent and 0.52 percent respectively.
The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include chicken (14.81 percent), chilies powder (9.40 percent), cooking oil 5 litre tin (4.11 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (3.83 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg tin (3.56 percent), Sufi washing soap 250 gm cake (2.15 percent), mustard oil (1.38 percent), maash (0.82 percent), toilet soap Lifebuoy (0.67 percent), garlic (0.64 percent), masoor (0.55 percent), gur (0.48 percent), pulse gram (0.45 percent), rice basmati broken (0.44 percent), Georgette (0.37 percent), firewood whole (0.31 percent), energy saver (0.25 percent), and mutton (0.12 percent). According to the PBS, decrease was observed in the price of tomatoes (29.37 percent), eggs (8.20 percent), potatoes (3.37 percent), onions (2.28 percent), LPG (1.73 percent), sugar (1.54 percent), moong (0.68 percent), bananas (0.32 percent), and wheat flour (0.07 percent). According to the PBS, the commodities which remained stable during the period under review include rice irri-6/9 (Sindh/Punjab), bread plain, beef with bone, milk fresh, curd, powdered milk, salt powdered, tea, cocked beef, cooked daal, tea prepared, cigarettes, long cloth 57" Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, shirting, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, gents sandal, gents sponge, ladies sandal, electricity charges for Q1, gas charges, and telephone call charges.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021