ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended May 6, 2021 recorded an increase of 0.50 percent over the last week due to increase in the prices of food items including chicken (10.36 percent), bananas (8.21 percent), and wheat flour (2.89 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The year-on-year trend depicts increase of 17.05 percent with most of the items increased mainly chilies powder (137.09 percent), electricity for Q1 (67.03 percent), chicken (49.16 percent), eggs (48.15 percent), diesel (38.03 percent), mustard oil (33.46 percent), gents sandal (33.37 percent), and petrol (32.96 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the prices of onions (37.61 percent), garlic (35.95 percent), moong (19.56 percent), potatoes (17.96 percent), masoor (8.78 percent), LPG (7.54 percent), and gram (4.54 percent).
According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 148.27 points during the week ended April 29, 2021 to 149.01 percent during the week under review.
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 for above Rs44,175 per month increased by 0.37 percent, 048 percent, 0.51 percent, 0.56 percent and 0.48 percent respectively. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.3 percent) items increased, seven (13.7 percent) items decreased, and 26 (51.0 percent) items remained constant, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.
The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include chicken (10.36 percent), bananas (8.21 percent), wheat flour bag 20kg (2.89 percent), mustard oil (1.49 percent), beef with bone (1.15 percent), gur (0.90 percent), sugar (0.82 percent), mutton (0.66 percent), bread plain (0.63 percent), curd (0.56 percent), toilet soap (0.49 percent), tomatoes (0.32 percent), moong (0.28 percent), shirting (0.24 percent), milk fresh (0.19 percent), maash (0.16 percent), powdered milk NIDO 390gm polybag each (0.13 percent) and vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (0.08 percent).
According to the PBS, decrease was observed in the price of eggs (6.29 percent), LPG (5.39 percent), onions (4.61 percent), potatoes (1.30 percent), gram (0.39 percent), masoor (0.32 percent), and garlic (0.17 percent). The commodities, prices of which remain unchanged during the period under review include rice basmati broken, rice IRRI-6/9 (Sindh/Punjab), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (SN), 5 litre tin each, vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each, salt powdered, chilies powder, tea Lipton Yellow Label, cooked beef, cooked daal, tea prepared, cigarettes Capstan, long cloth 57" Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, Georgette, gents sandal Bata, gents sponge chappal bata, ladies sandal Bata, electricity charges for Q1 Per Unit, gas charges, firewood whole, energy saver Philips, Sufi washing soap, match box, petrol super, Hi-speed diesel, and telephone call charges.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021