ISLAMABAD: The continued increase in the prices of petroleum and food items for the last several weeks resulted in alarming inflation in the country, taking the poor into the worst-ever miserable situation. The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)’s latest figure released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday for the week ended on September 7, 2023, showed an increase of 0.96 per cent, mostly attributed to the recent increase in fuel and food prices.
According to the data, in food items, prices of 32 items went up, five items went down, and rates of 14 items remained unchanged. The prices of food items witnessing an increase on a weekly basis included tomatoes (17 per cent), masoor (10.87 per cent), sugar (6.73 per cent) and garlic, which recorded an increase of 4.66 per cent).
Among non-food items having an increase on a weekly basis included diesel (6.28 per cent), LPG (5.19 per cent) and petrol (5.12 per cent), as per data released by PBS.
Other items recorded an increase in their average prices during the week included 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).
According to the data, the items have downward average prices during the week as compared to the earlier week, including chicken (3.20 per cent), cooking oil Dalda, 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 having 1kg pouch each went down by 0.14 per cent.
Year-on-Year Inflation
Meanwhile, as per data, the year-on-year trend also showed a vital increase of 26.32 per cent mostly due to an increase in the rates 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), chillies 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 those items having a year-on-year decrease included tomatoes (34.77 per cent), onions (23.44 per cent) and electricity for q1 21.96 per cent.
Due to the ongoing inflation and rapid increase in fuel and food prices, it is feared that the coming days may witness a further increase in inflation as the caretaker government is still unable to come up with any possible solution to counter the current economic unrest in the country.
People are already complaining about the high tariff charges on their electricity bills, followed by the rapid increase in food and fuel prices. Meanwhile, there is no positive indication from the IMF over concession on electricity bills, followed by its demand to increase gas charges.
