ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based inflation for the week ended 7 September 2023 increased by 0.96 per cent due to increase in the prices of food items, tomatoes (17 per cent), masoor (10.87 per cent), sugar (6.73 per cent), garlic (4.66 per cent) and non-food items, diesel (6.28 per cent), LPG (5.19 per cent) and petrol (5.12 per cent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 26.32 per cent mainly due to an increase in the prices of wheat flour (117.71 per cent), gas charges for q1 (108.38 per cent), sugar (107.36 per cent), cigarettes (100.16 per cent), rice basmati broken (90.66 per cent), tea Lipton (88.41 per cent), chilies powder (86.05 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (84.18 per cent), gur (72.83 per cent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 per cent), gents sandal (53.37 per cent), salt powdered (52.07 per cent), powdered milk (42.45 per cent) and bread (42.33 per cent), while a decrease is observed in the prices of tomatoes (34.77 per cent), onions (23.44 per cent) and electricity for q1 (21.96 per cent).

The SPI for the week under review was recorded at 279.89 points against 277.21 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, five (09.80 per cent) items decreased and 14 (27.45 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 0.77 per cent, 0.81 per cent, 0.80 per cent, 0.87 per cent, and 1.06 per cent respectively.

The items, which recorded an increase in their average prices during the week over the previous include tomatoes (17 per cent), masoor (10.87 per cent), sugar (6.73 per cent), hi-speed diesel (6.28 per cent), LPG (5.19 per cent), petrol super (5.12 per cent), garlic (4.66 per cent), gur (3.62 per cent), pulse moong (3.55 per cent), onions (3.43 per cent), pulse gram (3.25 per cent), pulse mash (2.99 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (2.47 per cent), salt powdered (2 per cent), tea prepared (1.89 per cent), cooked daal(1.23 per cent), Georgette (1.16 per cent), rice basmati broken (1.12 per cent), bread plain (1.07 per cent), milk fresh (0.98 per cent), potatoes (0.77 per cent), lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam(0.73 per cent), eggs (0.73 per cent), curd (0.66 per cent), Sufi washing soap (0.58 per cent), mutton (0.47 per cent), firewood whole 40kg (0.44 per cent), bananas (0.31 per cent), shirting (0.21 per cent), wheat flour bag 20kg (0.21 per cent), mustard oil (0.19 per cent), and beef with bone (0.17 per cent).

The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices during the week over the previous include chicken (3.20 per cent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (1.03 per cent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (0.47 per cent), tea Lipton Yellow Label (0.43 per cent) and vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.14 per cent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023