ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended February 17, 2022 recorded an increase of 0.22 percent due to increase in food items including garlic (10.53 percent), tomatoes (4.35 percent), bananas (4.28 percent), chicken (2.89 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (1.08 percent), and non-food items petrol (8.12 percent, diesel (6.52 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 18.09 percent mainly due to increase in tomatoes (322.87 percent), electricity for q1 (65.79 percent), garlic (60.98percent), LPG (55.11 percent), mustard oil (48.44 percent), petrol (42.28 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (41.81 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (39.13 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (38.97 percent), washing soap (38.40 percent), masoor (37.19 percent), and diesel (32.26 percent), while major decrease observed in the prices of chillies powdered (36.30 percent), moong (28.43 percent), chicken (9.77 percent), sugar (5.72 percent), onions (3.84 percent), and potatoes (0.38 percent).
According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 169.23 percent during the week ended February 10, 2022 to 169.61 percent during the week under review.
The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs 17,732 and Rs 17,733 to Rs 22,888 decreased by 0.16 percent and 0.26 percent respectively, while for Rs 22,889 to Rs 29,517, Rs 29,518 to Rs 44,175 and for above Rs 44,175 it increased by 0.14 percent, 0.45 percent, and 0.29 percent respectively.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 28 (54.90 percent) items increased, 11 (21.57 percent) items decreased, and 12 (23.53 percent) items remained stable, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.
The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices included garlic (10.53 percent), petrol super (8.12 percent), hi-speed diesel (6.52 percent), tomatoes (4.35 percent), bananas (4.28 percent), chicken (2.89 percent), match box (2.17 percent), cooked daal (1.94 percent), long cloth 57” Gul Ahmed/Al Karam (1.50 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (1.08 percent), cooked beef (0.99 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.95 percent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (0.90 percent), powdered milk Nido 390gm poly-bag each (0.79 percent), mustard oil (0.66 percent), shirting (0.56 percent), Georgette (0.54 percent), mutton (0.43 percent) pulse gram (0.32 percent), rice basmati broken (0.23 percent), beef with bone (0.16 percent), firewood whole (0.13 percent), masoor (0.09 percent), milk fresh (0.08 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.08 percent), toilet soap (0.07 percent), tea Lipton Yellow Label (0.02 percent), and curd (0.02 percent).
The commodities, which recorded decrease in their prices during the period under review include chilies powder (5.41 percent), eggs (5.31 percent), electricity charges (5.20 percent), onions (1.39 percent), potatoes (0.89 percent), gur (0.82 percent), sugar (0.59 percent), wheat flour bag 20 kg (0.27 percent), LPG (0.17 percent), moong (0.11 percent), and maash (0.08 percent).
The commodities whose prices remained unchanged during the period included bread plain (small size), salt powdered, tea prepared, cigarettes Capstan, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, gents sandal Bata pair, gents sponge chappal Bata pair, ladies sandal Bata pair, gas charges, energy saver Philips, Sufi washing soap, and telephone call charges.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022