Pakistan’s inflation rate fell to 9.6% in the year to October 2026, down from 10.3% in September, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the federal agency that measures consumer prices. The reading was still higher than the 6.2% recorded a year earlier. Prices rose 1.1% over the month, slower than September’s 1.3% monthly increase.
Urban and rural price changes
Year-on-year urban inflation eased to 9.5%, while rural inflation stood at 9.8%. The monthly picture was uneven: prices rose 1.5% in rural areas and 0.8% in cities, so households outside urban centres felt a sharper month-to-month lift even as the national annual rate cooled.
Fiscal-year average and official outlook
Average inflation for July to October of fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) reached 10.05%, compared with 4.79% in the same four months of the previous fiscal year. October’s 9.6% outcome sat inside the Finance Ministry’s forecast band of 9.5% to 10.5%.
The ministry linked the outlook to global energy prices, food supplies and base effects—how today’s prices compare with an unusually high or low level in the same month a year earlier. Topline Securities said FY27 average inflation could exceed 9% if oil stayed between $100 and $110 a barrel.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- A year before October 2026: Annual inflation was 6.2%.
- July–October of the previous fiscal year: Average inflation was 4.79%.
- September 2026: Annual inflation stood at 10.3%; monthly prices rose 1.3%.
- July–October FY27: Average inflation reached 10.05%.
- October 2026: Annual inflation eased to 9.6%; monthly prices rose 1.1%.
Aasan alfaaz mein
October mein Pakistan ki saalana mehengai 9.6 percent reh gayi, jo September ke 10.3 percent se kam hai. Phir bhi yeh pichhle saal ke 6.2 percent se oopar hai. Gaon mein is mahine qeematein shehron se tez barhin. Wazarat-e-Maaliya ke mutabiq yeh nateeja un ke 9.5 se 10.5 percent ke andaze ke andar hai.
