ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based inflation for the week ended August 17, 2023, increased by 0.78 percent due to an increase in the prices of food items, chillies powder (7.58 percent), rice irri-6/9 (7.48 percent), garlic (5.06 percent), sugar (4.02 percent), gur (3.23 percent), rice basmati broken (3.06 percent), chicken (2.83 percent) and bananas (2.72 percent), non-food items, diesel (7.29 percent) and petrol (6.40 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 27.57 per cent mainly due to an increase in the prices of wheat flour (131.29 per cent), gas charges for q1 (108.38 per cent), cigarettes (106.89 per cent), tea Lipton (95.19 per cent), rice basmati broken (88.76 per cent), chilies powder (86.05 per cent), rice irri6/9 (84.16 per cent), sugar (74.71 per cent), gur (63.00 per cent), chicken (58.56 per cent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 per cent), potatoes (56.30 per cent) and salt powdered (49.09 per cent), while decrease is observed in the prices onions (28.85 per cent), electricity for q1 (21.96 per cent), masoor (14.85 per cent) and vegetable ghee 1kg (1.20 per cent).
The SPI for the week under review was recorded at 275.57 points against 273.43 points registered in the previous week, according to the PBS data released on Friday.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 32 (62.75 per cent) items increased, seven (13.72 per cent) items decreased and 12 (23.53 per cent) items remained stable.
The SPI for the consumption group up to Rs17,732, Rs17,732-Rs22,888, Rs22,889-Rs29,517 and Rs29,518-Rs44,175 and for above Rs44,175 consumption group increased by 0.36 per cent, 0.43 per cent, 0.51 per cent, 0.64 per cent and 0.98 per cent respectively.
The items, which recorded an increase in their average prices during the week over the previous include chilies powder National 200 gm packet each (7.58 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (7.48 per cent), hi-speed diesel (7.29 per cent), petrol super (6.40 per cent), garlic (5.06 per cent), sugar refined (4.02 per cent), gur (3.23 per cent), rice basmati broken (3.06 per cent), chicken (2.83 per cent), bananas (2.72 per cent), maash (2.65 per cent), onions (2.19 per cent), moong (2.12 per cent), energy saver Philips (1.91 per cent), eggs (1.82 per cent), masoor (0.99 per cent), powdered milk Nido(0.93 per cent), toilet soap (0.92 per cent), shirting (0.90 per cent), tea prepared (0.83 per cent), cooked daal(0.81 per cent), cooked beef (0.78 per cent), LPG (0.62 per cent), potatoes (0.61 per cent), pulse gram (0.44 per cent), cigarettes Capstan (0.39 per cent), mutton (0.39 per cent), beef with bone (0.39 per cent), Sufi washing soap (0.23 per cent), match box (0.18 per cent), Georgette (0.17 per cent), and milk fresh (0.02 per cent).
The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices during the week over the previous include tomatoes (13.60 per cent), cooking oil Daldaor other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (1.65 per cent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (0.85 per cent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.43 per cent), firewood whole 40kg (0.42 per cent), mustard oil (0.23 per cent), and wheat flour bag 20kg (0.19 per cent).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023