ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended June 9, 2022, recorded a significant increase of 2.67 percent due to an increase in the prices of food items including potatoes (7.01 per cent), tomatoes (6.15 per cent), vegetable ghee 1kg (3.62 per cent), eggs (3.30 per cent), milk fresh (2.51 per cent), pulse gram (2.31 per cent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (2.02 per cent), cooking oil 5-litre (1.45 per cent) and non-food items hi-speed diesel (17.18 per cent) and petrol super(16.61 per cent), the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said.

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 23.98per cent mainly due to an increase in onions (148.22per cent), tomatoes (148.11per cent), petrol (92.16per cent), diesel (83.33per cent), mustard oil (76.25per cent), vegetable ghee 1kg (73.62per cent), masoor (67.53per cent), cooking oil 5-litre (67.11per cent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (65.71per cent), garlic (64.21per cent), LPG (62.64per cent) and washing soap (49.24per cent), while major decrease observed in the prices of chillies powdered (43.42per cent), moong (19.70per cent), electricity charges for q1 (11.71per cent), sugar (10.93per cent), gur (1.86per cent), and bananas (1.10per cent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 178.12 per cent during the week ended June 2, 2022, to 182.88 per cent during the week under review.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,732 and Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517 and Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and for above Rs44,175 increased by 1.72 per cent, 2.03 per cent, 2.17 per cent, 2.49 per cent, and 2.99 per cent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 33 (64.70per cent) items increased, 05 (9.81per cent) items decreased and 13 (25.49per cent) items remained stable, says the PBS.

The items the prices of which increased included hi-speed diesel (17.18 per cent), petrol super (16.61 per cent), potatoes (7.01 per cent), tomatoes (6.15 per cent), Sufi washing soap (4.42 per cent), mustard oil (4.28 per cent), toilet soap lifebuoy (3.94 per cent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (3.62 per cent), eggs (3.30 per cent), milk fresh (2.51 per cent), pulse gram (2.31 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (2.04 per cent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (2.02 per cent), curd (2.02 per cent), onions (1.96 per cent), cooked daal (1.66 per cent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5-litre tin each (1.45 per cent), rice basmati broken (0.94 per cent), firewood whole 40kg (0.81 per cent), salt powdered (0.79 per cent), maash (0.65 per cent), masoor (0.57 per cent), tea prepared (0.43 per cent), cooked beef (0.40 per cent), bread plain (0.40 per cent), powdered milk Nido(0.34 per cent), gur (0.31 per cent), beef with bone (0.26 per cent), mutton (0.24 per cent), energy saver Philips (0.20 per cent), sugar (0.13 per cent), cigarettes Capstan (0.02 per cent), and moong (0.01 per cent).

The items which registered a decrease in prices include chicken (10.53 per cent), garlic (0.43 per cent), wheat flour bag 20kg (0.22 per cent), LPG (0.12 per cent), and bananas (0.07 per cent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022