Inflation accelerates to 27.6% in January — highest since May 1975

In Pakistan, the headline inflation rate increased to a record-high level in January as a result of food product supply shortages and a sharp increase in the cost of petroleum items.

According to data provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday, consumer prices increased by 27.6% in comparison to 13% in the same month the previous year. Since May 1975, when the median inflation rate was 27.77%, this is the greatest year-over-year inflation rate.

As nearly 6,000 containers are delayed in ports, including thousands of tonnes of supplies for poultry feed that raised chicken prices to a record earlier this year, inflation increased on a month-over-month basis, rising 2.9%.

Due to the delay of containers, the inflation rate—which has hovered above 20% since June when the coalition government restricted imports—has been increasing.