Weekly inflation in Pakistan reached a staggering 47.23% year-on-year for the week ending April 19, driven by soaring prices of essential food items and petrol.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported a 0.51% week-on-week increase in inflation.
Sensitive price indicators for the week demonstrated price hikes for various items: LPG prices rose by 4.75%, potatoes by 3.79%, petrol by 3.67%, tea by 3.61%, gur by 3.40%, matchboxes by 2.51%, bread by 2.48%, chicken by 2%, bananas by 1.68%, broken basmati rice by 1.54%, and rice irri-6/9 by 1.22%. In contrast, prices dropped for tomatoes by 13.11%, onions by 4.62%, garlic by 3.59%, sugar by 1.52%, wheat flour by 0.93%, mustard oil by 0.56%, cigarettes by 0.26%, and pulse gram by 0.22%.
The SPI for the week was recorded at 251.83 points, compared to 250.56 points the previous week and 171.05 points during the week ending April 21, 2022.
According to Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, the increase in SPI was primarily driven by a 4% rise in petrol prices and a 2% increase in chicken prices.
The government adjusted petrol prices by Rs10 per liter in response to rising international oil prices and the rupee devaluation. Meanwhile, chicken prices increased due to heightened seasonal demand during Ramadan and the upcoming Eid celebration.
Rauf anticipates that April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) will reach around 39%, up from 35.4% in March. Over the past year, commodity prices have surged significantly due to currency devaluation and devastating floods that severely impacted food crops across the country’s fertile plains. This combination of factors has contributed to the dramatic increase in weekly inflation.
