Weekly inflation reaches 42.27pc in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – The weekly inflation reached 42.27 per cent year-on-year owing to the rising prices of edible oil, pulses and vegetables.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, the short-term inflation is expected to intensify further as the full impact of depreciation, hike in general sales tax rate and higher energy prices has yet to reflect in official data.

Week-on-week inflation remained 1.37pc for the seven-day period ending on March 9, with bananas, chicken, sugar, cooking oil, gas and cigarettes becoming costlier.

Of the 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 29 items increased while those of eight items decreased. Rates of 14 items remained stable.

During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most over the same week a year ago were onions (305.23pc), cigarettes (165.66pc), gas charges for the first quintile (108.38pc), diesel (93.82pc), eggs (78.63pc), rice Irri 6/9 (78.14pc), petrol (77.89pc), rice basmati broken (77.27pc), bananas (74.01pc), pulse moong (72.54pc), tea Lipton (66.31pc), pulse mash (56.02pc), pulse gram (55.97pc) and bread (55.36pc).

In contrast, the highest year-on-year fall was recorded in the prices of tomatoes (41.79pc) and chilli powdered (7.42pc).

The government has been taking strict measures under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which is likely to slow down economic growth and stoke inflation.

The increase in the policy rate to 20pc, general sales tax rate from 17pc to 18pc on most items and to 25pc on more than 800 imported food and non-food items will further increase retail prices of consumer goods.