Weekly Inflation Decreases Slightly Due to Small Decline in Food Prices

The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) based inflation for the week ended November 28, 2024 decreased by 0.03 percent due to decline in the prices of chicken (3.78 percent), tomatoes (2.23 percent), pulse gram (1.60 percent), pulse masoor (1.38 percent), rice basmati broken (1.15 percent), gur (0.59 percent), pulse mash (0.53 percent) and pulse moong (0.25 percent), says Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 5.13 percent mainly due to an increase in the prices of ladies’ sandal (75.09 percent), pulse gram (66.40 percent), tomatoes (42.08 percent), pulse moong (38.38 percent), powdered milk (25.74 percent), beef (23.74 percent), gas charges for q1 ( 15.52 percent), garlic (15.33 percent), shirting (15.27 percent), cooked daal (14.78 percent), mutton (14.73 percent) and georgette (13.07 percent), while a major decrease is observed in the prices of wheat flour (35.17 percent), chilies powder (20.00 percent), diesel (13.92 percent), petrol (11.64 percent), tea lipton (9.91 percent), rice basmati broken (9.37 percent), pulse masoor (9.14 percent), bread (5.99 percent), electricity charges for q1 (5.07 percent), cooking oil 5 liter (2.13 percent) and sugar (1.71 percent). During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 12 (23.53 percent) items increased, 09 (17.65 percent) items decreased and 30 (58.82 percent) items remained stable. The SPI for the week under review was recorded at 324 points against 324.11 points during the same period of the previous week. The SPI for the consumption group up to Rs. 17,732 and Rs. 17,732-Rs. 22,888 increased by 0.06 percent and 0.02 percent, remained the same for Rs. 22,889-Rs. 29,517, and decreased for the consumption group Rs. 29,518-Rs. 44,175 and above Rs. 44,175 by 0.02 percent and 0.06 percent respectively.