Short-term inflation rose to 11.32 per cent year-on-year in the week ending 29 October, driven largely by perishable food prices, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks week-to-week changes in the cost of essentials, eased 0.35 per cent from the previous week. The reading follows 11.85 per cent year-on-year short-term inflation a week earlier, when wheat flour prices were a major driver. Double-digit annual SPI readings have continued for several consecutive weeks, with energy costs among the persistent pressures in the broader picture.
What the weekly basket showed
The SPI covers 51 items whose prices are collected from 50 markets in 17 cities. In the latest week, 15 commodities became more expensive, 12 became cheaper and 24 held steady.
Tomatoes recorded the steepest week-on-week rise, at 34.91 per cent. Other notable weekly increases included potatoes (3.27 per cent), diesel (2.53 per cent), pulse gram (2.11 per cent), plain bread (1.29 per cent), onions (0.62 per cent), fresh milk (0.48 per cent), curd (0.46 per cent), vegetable ghee (0.29 per cent) and firewood (0.2 per cent).
Items that fell week-on-week included electricity charges for Q1 (3.92 per cent), chicken (2.95 per cent), eggs (2.81 per cent), wheat flour (0.83 per cent), LPG (0.73 per cent), bananas (0.71 per cent), rice IRRI-6/9 and masoor pulse (0.43 per cent each), petrol (0.39 per cent), sugar (0.35 per cent) and powdered milk (0.33 per cent).
Year-on-year price pressures
Compared with a year earlier, the sharpest SPI increases were in LPG (106.86 per cent), electricity charges for Q1 (52.38 per cent), diesel (45.13 per cent), petrol (43.61 per cent), wheat flour (34.87 per cent) and chicken (31.72 per cent). Other annual rises included chilli powder (15.55 per cent), mutton (14.66 per cent), plain bread (12.26 per cent), beef (12.10 per cent), onions (8.99 per cent) and prepared tea (8.41 per cent).
On the same annual basis, potatoes were 38.67 per cent cheaper, followed by tomatoes (27.99 per cent), eggs (26.70 per cent), sugar (25.21 per cent), powdered salt (14.86 per cent), gur (8.51 per cent), masoor pulse (8.37 per cent) and moong pulse (6.42 per cent).
Rising fuel costs feed into transport and production expenses and can push up food prices—a pattern often described as cost-push inflation, when higher energy costs work through into household goods. Families therefore feel pressure both at the pump and in the kitchen, even when a few items ease from one week to the next.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Previous week: Short-term inflation stood at 11.85 per cent year-on-year, driven largely by higher wheat flour prices, according to PBS data.
- Week ending 29 October: Year-on-year short-term inflation eased to 11.32 per cent; the SPI fell 0.35 per cent week-on-week.
- Same week: Tomato prices rose 34.91 per cent from the previous week, the largest weekly gain among the 51 items.
- Friday: PBS released the latest SPI figures covering 50 markets in 17 cities.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan mein short-term inflation is haftay 11.32 percent rahi hai, jo pichlay saal ke muqablay mein hai. Tomatoes ek haftay mein bohot mehengi ho gayi hain, lekin kuch cheezein jaise chicken aur eggs sasti bhi hui hain. Petrol aur diesel ab bhi pichlay saal se kaafi mehengay hain. Ghar ke kharchay par asar kitchen aur travel dono taraf se aa raha hai.
