Onions, chicken, eggs, rice, cigarettes, and fuel all saw major price increases in the previous week, according to government figures released on Friday, pushing the weekly inflation rate beyond 40% for the first time in more than five months.
The price of bananas, chicken, sugar, cooking oil, gas, and cigarettes increased, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), even if week-over-week inflation somewhat decreased.
Sensitive Price Index (SPI) data shows that as a result, short-term inflation increased from 38.42 percent the week before to 41.54 percent for the week ending on February 23.
Inflation week over week decreased to 2.78 percent from 2.89 percent a week ago. Among the 51 goods tracked, the prices of 33 items climbed, six items decreased, whereas those of 12 items stayed unchanged.
According to official figures, the prior week-over-week reading of 2.89pc was the greatest since October 27, when the change in SPI was 4.13pc.
The items whose prices rose the most during the reviewed week compared to the same week a year prior were onions (up 372%), cigarettes (up 167%), gas (up 108.38%), chicken (85.7%), diesel (up 81.36%), eggs (up 75.81%), Irri 6/9 rice (up 75.41%), broken basmati rice (up 74.16%), bananas (up 72.22%), washed moong pulse (up 70.39) and petrol 69.87pc.
In contrast, the lowest-income group’s electricity costs and the cost of tomatoes dropped the most year over year: -7.42 percent and -67.93 percent, respectively (-6.64pc).
For the lowest income category, gas prices increased by 108.4%, cigarettes by 76.45%, bananas by 6.67%, chicken by 5.27%, sugar by 3.37%, cooking oil in five-liter cans by 3.07%, vegetable ghee by 2.5kg and 1kg packs by 2.79%, and prepared tea by 1.09% week over week.
Onions dropped in price by 13.84 percent, eggs down by 5.5 percent, tomatoes dropped by 4.23 percent, garlic dropped by 3.03 percent, LPG dropped by 0.81 percent, and gram pulses dropped by 0.21 percent from the previous week.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures overall inflation, showed a 27.6 percent increase in January. But, the government has been implementing strict regulations in accordance with IMF guidelines, which are probably going to further cool the economy and fuel inflation.
In order to close the fiscal deficit, the government has already implemented a number of steps, such as adopting a market-based exchange rate, raising fuel and electricity prices, eliminating subsidies, and increasing taxation.
According to representatives, the lender and Islamabad are still in negotiations regarding debt in the power industry and a prospective increase in the policy rate, which is now set at 17 percent.
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen to only $3 billion, just enough for three weeks’ worth of imports, and the economy is in dire need of outside funding. This week, China announced a refinancing of $700 million, which the State Bank of Pakistan received on Friday.
