Pakistan’s consumer price index (CPI) for July recorded an 11.1% year-on-year increase, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released on Thursday.
The CPI, a gauge of household inflation, reflects price changes across various household expenditure categories.
The PBS report highlighted a decrease in the general CPI inflation to 11.1% in July 2024 from 12.6% the previous month and 28.3% in July 2023. Month-on-month, the inflation rate stood at 2.1%, with rural inflation at 8.1% and urban inflation at 13.2%.
Karachi’s Topline Securities acknowledged that the data aligned with expectations, while a Bloomberg estimate had anticipated a 10.6% rise.
Core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy sectors, reached 11.7% in urban areas and 16.9% in rural areas.
Food inflation registered at 1.56% year-on-year and 4.67% month-on-month. Rising food prices have historically significantly driven inflation, with a cumulative increase of over 114% in the last five years, averaging 22% annually.
Significant monthly price increases in urban areas included tomatoes (75.82%), fresh vegetables (29.71%), and milk powder (17.34%). In rural areas, tomatoes saw a 103.81% rise, while milk powder prices increased by 21.19%.
Non-food items also saw notable hikes, with urban prices for liquified hydrocarbons up by 18.29% and rural construction inputs rising by 6.50%.
