ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended June 24, 2021 recorded an increase of 0.82 percent over the last week due to increase in the prices of food items including tomatoes (14.56 percent), chicken (11.43 percent), onions (8.38 percent), potatoes (3.37 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (1.53 percent), cooking oil (1.41 percent), and non-food item LPG (8.64 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts increase of 15.29 percent with most of the items increased mainly electricity for Q1 (61.62 percent), chilies powder (57.57 percent), petrol (48.21 percent), diesel (40.04 percent), mustard oil (35.57 percent), gents sandal (33.37 percent), LPG (32.31 percent), eggs (27.90 percent), gents sponge chappal (25.13 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (24.81 percent), and match box (23.44 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the prices of tomatoes (26.03 percent), moong (24.15 percent), garlic (16.79 percent), potatoes (15.81 percent), onions (1.03 percent), salt (0.89 percent), and masoor (0.50 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 147.92 points during the week ended June 17, 2021 to 149.14 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 0.67 percent, 0.75 percent, 0.76 percent, 0.79 percent, and 0.91 percent, respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 21 (41.2 percent) items increased, seven (13.7 percent) items decreased, and 23 (45.1 percent) items remained constant, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.

The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include tomatoes (14.56 percent), chicken (11.43 percent), LPG (8.64 percent), onions (8.38 percent), potatoes (3.37 percent), garlic (2.52 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (1.53 percent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (SN), 5 litre tin each (1.41 percent), toilet soap (1.40 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5 kg tin each (1.24 percent), rice IRRI-6/9 (0.73 percent), rice basmati broken (0.43 percent), mustard oil (0.39 percent), cooked daal (0.37 percent), firewood whole 40kg (0.35 percent), milk fresh (0.30 percent), eggs (0.26 percent), beef with bone (0.20 percent), powdered milk NIDO 390gm polybag each (0.18 percent), wheat flour bag 20kg (0.14 percent), and mutton (0.09 percent).

According to the PBS, decrease was observed in the price of moong (3.79 percent), bananas (2.54 percent), pulse gram (0.71 percent), gur (0.66 percent), maash (0.45 percent), masoor (0.26 percent), and sugar (0.12 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021