The Sensitive Price Index (SPI)-based inflation for the week ending October 10, 2024, saw a marginal decline of 0.08 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The report highlighted that, of the 51 essential items monitored, the prices of 15 items (29.42 percent) increased, 8 items (15.68 percent) decreased, and the remaining 28 items (54.90 percent) remained unchanged.
Among the items that saw a price increase, onions led with a 4.14 percent rise, followed by a 1.85 percent hike in the cost of a 20 kg wheat flour bag. Other notable increases included pulse gram (0.63 percent), mustard oil (0.35 percent), potatoes (0.30 percent), LPG (0.25 percent), gur (0.23 percent), firewood (0.12 percent), garlic (0.11 percent), beef with bone (0.11 percent), cigarettes (0.06 percent), and mutton (0.03 percent).
Conversely, several items experienced price decreases, with tomatoes showing the largest drop of 19.79 percent. Other items that saw price reductions include bananas (2.91 percent), sugar (1.47 percent), pulse mash (1.16 percent), chicken (0.84 percent), pulse moong (0.40 percent), eggs (0.27 percent), and pulse masoor (0.20 percent).
Despite the slight weekly decrease, the year-on-year inflation trend reflected a significant increase of 12.74 percent, underscoring continued inflationary pressures in Pakistan’s economy.
