Pakistan’s short-term inflation eased slightly in mid-October, as the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) — the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ weekly gauge of essential goods — fell by 0.04 percent for the combined consumption group in the week ended 15 October 2026.
PBS said the combined SPI moved to 372.43 points from 372.58 the previous week. On a year-on-year basis, the same index was still 11.38 percent higher than a year earlier. The SPI uses a 2015-16 base of 100 and covers 51 essential items across 17 urban centres.
What got cheaper and what rose
Cheaper produce drove the weekly dip. Tomato prices fell 23.05 percent week-on-week, onions 4.90 percent and bananas 2.59 percent. Petrol eased 0.70 percent, broken basmati rice 0.65 percent, sugar 0.62 percent and gur 0.36 percent.
Other kitchen staples moved the other way. Pulse gram rose 4.97 percent, wheat flour 3.36 percent and chicken 3.31 percent. Eggs were up 0.99 percent, with pulse mash and pulse masoor close behind. Firewood, shirting, cooked daal, diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, bottled cooking gas) and prepared tea also recorded smaller weekly increases.
Of the 51 items tracked, prices rose for 23 (45.10 percent of the basket), fell for seven (13.72 percent) and stayed unchanged for 21 (41.18 percent).
Year-on-year pressure remains high
Despite the soft weekly reading, annual comparisons stay painful for many households. PBS data showed onions 75.19 percent dearer than a year earlier, LPG up 68.95 percent and electricity charges for the first quarter up 58.59 percent. Petrol was 49.60 percent higher year-on-year and diesel 43.98 percent. Wheat flour rose 35.13 percent, chicken 20.77 percent, chilli powder 15.55 percent, mutton 14.90 percent and beef 12.27 percent. Plain bread and prepared tea also rose on an annual basis.
Some items were cheaper than last year: tomatoes down 63.65 percent, potatoes 39.93 percent, sugar 23.20 percent, eggs 19.83 percent, salt powder 14.86 percent, pulse masoor 8.97 percent, gur 8.92 percent and pulse moong 7.83 percent.
PBS figures also showed a 50-kilogram bag of Sona urea unchanged at Rs4,780 on the week, though 9.19 percent higher than a year earlier. A 50-kilogram bag of cement averaged Rs1,600, up 0.27 percent week-on-week and 14.66 percent year-on-year.
How income groups fared
PBS said the SPI for the lowest consumption group (monthly spending up to Rs17,732) fell 0.06 percent to 356.35 points from 356.56. Declines were also recorded for the Rs17,733–22,888, Rs22,889–29,517, Rs29,518–44,175 and above-Rs44,175 groups, at 0.04 percent, 0.01 percent, 0.02 percent and 0.06 percent respectively. The indicator is compiled from markets in 17 cities and is meant to show short-term shifts in the cost of essentials.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Is hafte mehengai thori si kam hui: weekly SPI 0.04 percent gir gaya. Tamatar, pyaaz aur kuch cheezen sasti huin, lekin aata, chicken aur daalen mehengi huin. Salana hisaab se mehengai ab bhi 11.38 percent upar hai, is liye ghar ka kharcha ab bhi bhari hai.
