Weekly inflation rises in Pakistan as prices of 16 items go up

Pakistan’s weekly inflation saw a slight rise for the period ending November 20, with fresh data showing that a handful of everyday items pushed the Sensitive Price Indicator higher.

Figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed that the SPI increased by 0.07 percent during the week. The jump was small, yet it reflected sharp changes in the prices of a few essentials that many households rely on.

Tomatoes lead the surge

Tomato prices recorded a dramatic rise, climbing more than 57 percent in just one week. LPG, garlic, sugar and diesel also went up, adding to the pressure on kitchen and fuel budgets. Slight increases were noticed in bananas, tea prepared, vegetable ghee, beef and mustard oil.

At the same time, consumers caught some relief as prices of onions, chicken, potatoes, salt powder, wheat flour, pulses and eggs dropped. Nearly one third of the 51 surveyed items became costlier, while a similar share saw either a decrease or stayed unchanged.

Annual trend shows mixed picture

Compared with the same week last year, the SPI was higher by 3.53 percent. Items such as sugar, gas charges for the first quarter, wheat flour, beef and bananas showed sizeable annual jumps. On the other hand, prices of garlic, potatoes, several pulses, onions, LPG and electricity charges for the first quarter declined over the year.

The data also revealed that lower income groups experienced smaller weekly changes than higher earning households.

Among key inputs, the average price of Sona urea was recorded at Rs4,358 per 50 kg bag. This was lower than both last week’s rate and the price recorded a year earlier. Cement remained mostly stable at Rs1,390 per 50 kg bag, showing a slight weekly increase but still cheaper than last year.

The SPI tracks the price movement of 51 essential goods across 50 markets in 17 cities. It is released weekly to give policymakers and the public a close look at short term price shifts, helping them gauge how everyday costs are changing in real time.