Key Takeaways
- Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), reached 10.64% year-on-year.
- Petrol and diesel prices, along with LPG, saw significant increases, driving overall SPI up.
- Onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables also faced price hikes due to rising transport costs.
Short-term inflation, as measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), surged to 10.64% year-on-year for the week ending September 17, according to official data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The increase was primarily driven by higher energy prices, with petrol and diesel prices rising by 48% and 54.21% respectively, and LPG prices increasing by 60.42%.
The SPI, which comprises 51 items from 50 markets in 17 cities, has now risen for the 73rd consecutive week, indicating sustained pressure on consumer prices.
The overall SPI showed a broad-based rise, with key items such as wheat flour, garlic, and eggs also experiencing significant price hikes.
On a week-on-week basis, the SPI increased by 0.49%, with diesel prices rising by 7.29%, petrol by 6.40%, and LPG by 3.26%.
However, some items saw a decline in prices, including tomatoes (5.66%), onions (4.57%), and chicken (2.33%).
The SPI's rise is an example of cost-push inflation, where increased energy prices are followed by higher food costs, putting greater financial pressure on average households.
The items with the largest price increases over the previous week included diesel (7.29%), petrol (6.40%), LPG (3.26%), garlic (1.94%), and eggs (1.72%).
In contrast, the prices of potatoes fell by 35.31%, followed by sugar (20.95%), eggs (19.31%), and chicken (15.26%).
