ISLAMABAD: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) witnessed an increase of 12.2 percent on year-on-year basis in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 13 percent in the previous month and 8.7 percent in February 2021, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

On month-on-month basis, the CPI increased by 1.2 percent in February 2022 as compared to increase of 0.4 percent in the previous month and increase of 1.8 percent in February 2021.

According to the PBS data, the prices of food and non-food items including tomatoes, chicken, vegetables, fruits, pulse gram, vegetable ghee, cooking oil, wheat, bakery and confectionary, motor fuel, hosiery, motor vehicle accessories, and clinic fee increased.

The CPI inflation Urban, increased by 11.5percent on year-on-year basis in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 13 percent in the previous month and 8.6 percent in February 2021. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.9 percent in February 2022 as compared to increase of 0.1 percent in the previous month and increase of 2.3 percent in February 2021.

The CPI inflation Rural, increased by 13.3 percent on year-on-year basis in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 12.9 percent in the previous month and 8.8 percent in February 2021. On month-on-month basis, it increased by 1.5 percent in February 2022 as compared to increase of 0.9 percent in the previous month and increase of 1.1 percent in February 2021.

The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) inflation on YoY increased by 18.7 percent in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 20.9 percent a month earlier and an increase of 11.9 percent in February 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 1.3 percent in February 2022 as compared to decrease of -0.8 percent a month earlier and increase of 3.1 percent in February 2021.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on YoY basis increased by 23.6 percent in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 24 percent a month earlier and an increase of 9.5 percent in February 2021. The WPI inflation on MoM basis increased by 1.9 percent in February 2022 as compared to increase of 0.6 percent a month earlier and an increase of 2.2 percent in corresponding month i.e. February 2021.

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Measured by non-food non-energy Urban increased by 7.8 percent on YoY basis in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 8.2 percent in the previous month and 6.4 percent in February 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 0.8 percent in February 2022 as compared to increase of 0.8 percent in previous month, and an increase of 1.1 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. February 2021.

Measured by non-food non-energy Rural increased by 9.4 percent on YoY basis in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 9 percent in the previous month and 7.7 percent in February 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 0.9 percent in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.2 percent in previous month, and an increase of 0.5 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. February 2021.

Measured by 20 percent weighted trimmed mean urban increased by 9.8 percent on YoY basis in February 2022 as compared to 10.6 percent in the previous month and 7.9 percent in February 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 0.8 percent in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.5 percent in the previous month and an increase of 1 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. February 2021.

Measured by 20 percent weighted trimmed mean rural increased by 11.3 percent on YoY basis in February 2022 as compared to 10.9 percent in the previous month and by 9.2 percent in February 2021. On MoM basis, it increased by 1.2 percent in February 2022 as compared to an increase of 1.1 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.5 percent in corresponding month of last year i.e. February 2021.

Top few commodities, which varied from previous month and contributed to Urban CPI among food which registered increase are tomatoes (191.72percent), chicken (11.61percent), vegetables (10.69percent), fruits (7.32percent), mustard oil (6.04percent), fish (3.31percent), pulse gram (2.88percent), vegetable ghee (2.68percent), cooking oil (2.27percent), besan (1.99percent), rice (1.80percent), gram whole (1.58percent), meat (1.25percent), and masoor (1.18percent). decreased: eggs (11.82percent), potatoes (9.68percent), onions (8.81percent), condiments and spices (6.47percent), sugar (3.96percent), and moong (0.74percent).

Among non-food items, which increased are motor fuel (4.24percent), washing soap/detergents/match box (2.21percent), hosiery (2.03percent), motor vehicle accessories (1.59percent), clinic fee (1.57percent), solid fuel (1.56percent) and cleaning and laundering (1.17percent) and decreased in electricity charges (7.76percent) and liquefied hydrocarbons (3.16percent)

YoY top few commodities which varied from corresponding month of previous year i.e. February, 2021 among food which increased are tomatoes (310.06percent), mustard oil (49.85percent), cooking oil (41.03percent), vegetable ghee (38.82percent), masoor (38.42percent), vegetables (33.31percent), fruits (26.07 percent), gram whole (24.38 percent), meat (23.64 percent), pulse gram (13.90 percent), beans (13.03 percent), besan (11.97 percent), rice (11.89 percent) and milk (10.84 percent). decreased: pulse moong (25.64 percent), condiments & spices (13.63 percent), sugar (5.43 percent), onions (5.35 percent) and chicken (4.62 percent)

Among non-food items, which increased are liquefied hydrocarbons (54.60 percent), motor fuel (39.72 percent), cleaning & laundering (22.90 percent), washing soap/detergents/match box (17.09 percent), motor vehicle accessories (15.86 percent), solid fuel (12.67 percent), plastic products (11.43 percent) and stationery (10.50 percent).

The top few commodities, which varied from the previous month and contributed to Rural CPI and which increased among food items are tomatoes (198.35 percent), vegetables (10.72 percent), chicken (8.73 percent), fruits (6.48 percent), mustard oil (5.33 percent), gram whole (5.07 percent), pulse gram (4.63 percent), masoor (4.22 percent), cooking oil (3.74 percent), vegetable ghee (3.31 percent), rice (3.27 percent), fish (3.16 percent), wheat (2.93 percent), besan (2.65 percent), bakery and confectionary (2.58 percent), meat (2.28 percent) and beans (1.59 percent) and decreased among potatoes (17.59 percent), eggs (11.00 percent), onions (5.62 percent), sugar (5.29 percent), condiments and spices (1.29 percent), pulse moong (1.21 percent) and pulse mash (0.64 percent).

Among non-food items which increased are motor fuels (4.67 percent), plastic products (2.37 percent), washing soaps/detergents/match box (2.20 percent), stationery (1.76 percent), motor vehicles accessories (1.74 percent), hosiery (1.29 percent) and solid fuel (0.95 percent) and decreased in electricity charges (7.76 percent).

YoY top few commodities which varied from corresponding month of previous year i.e. February 2021 and registered increase among food items are tomatoes (267.51 percent), mustard oil (52.00 percent), cooking oil (47.73 percent), vegetable ghee (44.06 percent), masoor (39.78 percent), vegetables (39.21 percent), gram whole (34.43 percent), fruits (25.30 percent), meat (24.30 percent), beans (14.84 percent) and besan (14.55 percent) and decreased among pulse moong (26.37 percent), condiments and spices (16.05 percent), onions (5.06 percent), sugar (4.53 percent) and chicken (3.15 percent).

Among non-food items, which increased are liquefied hydrocarbons (47.00 percent), motor fuels (38.93 percent), washing soaps/detergents/match box (18.62 percent), cleaning and laundering (16.82 percent), hosiery (15.68 percent), motor vehicles accessories (15.26 percent), solid fuel (15.11 percent), woolen readymade garments (15.03 percent), woolen cloth (14.02 percent), plastic products (12.70 percent), and furniture and furnishing (12.58 percent).

Top few commodities which varied from previous month and contributed to the WPI inflation and increased included vegetables (23.50 percent), fruits (15.77 percent), poultry (14.75 percent), furnace oil (13.61 percent), oil seeds (8.16 percent), kerosene oil (5.69 percent), fertilizers (5.39 percent), motor spirit (5.32 percent), diesel (5.19 percent), quilts (5.00 percent), vegetable ghee (3.90 percent), bed sheets (3.67 percent), lighting equipment (2.33 percent), rice (2.25 percent), soaps & detergents (1.27 percent) and hosiery products (1.24 percent) and decreased among eggs (16.88 percent), potatoes (9.28 percent), electrical energy (9.27 percent), sugar (4.15 percent), wheat (2.88 percent), maize (1.58 percent), stimulant and spice crops (1.37 percent) and bajra (1.16 percent).

YoY top few commodities which varied from previous year and registered increase fibre crops (80.77 percent), vegetables (70.86 percent), oil seeds (62.53 percent), kerosene oil (51.54 percent), furnace oil (47.69 percent), steel bar and sheets (46.28 percent), chemicals (46.15 percent), fertilizers (46.10 percent), cotton yarn (45.36 percent), vegetable ghee (44.67 percent), diesel (40.97 percent), motor spirit (40.92 percent), vegetable oils (32.89 percent), bajra (22.36 percent) and meat (20.43 percent) and decreased among spices (33.63 percent), poultry (5.78 percent), sugar (4.96 percent), maize (3.31 percent), and eggs (1.89 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022