Weekly inflation drops by 0.57pc

ISLAMABAD: Weekly inflation for the combined group in the period ended on March 11 decreased by 0.57 percent, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday.
However, the weekly SPI for the combined group increased by 13.48 percent compared to the corresponding period of the last year.
The PBS calculates the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) based on the prices of 51 essential items from 50 markets across 17 cities of the country. Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 26 items increased, 7 items decreased whereas 18 items registered no change during the week.
According to data released by the PBS, the Combined Index was at 147.14 compared to 147.99 on Mar 04, 2021 while the index was recorded at 129.66 a year ago on March 12, 2020
The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed a mixed trend with SPI ranging between -1.54 percent and 0.02 percent.
For the lowest income group earning below Rs17,732 per month, the SPI decreased by 0.95 percent, while for those who are earning above Rs44,175, it recorded a decrease of 0.15 percent.
On an yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 11.93 percent and 18.03 percent. Yearly SPI for the lowest income group increased by 18.03 percent while the highest income group recorded an increase of 11.93 percent.
The items that recorded a decrease in their weekly prices included garlic (6.64 percent), chicken (2.96 percent), onions (0.91 percent), gur (0.69 percent), pulse Masoor (0.49 percent), electricity (9.01 percent) and LPG (2.13 percent).
On the other hand, an increase was observed in the prices of eggs (10.78 percent), tomatoes (7.01 percent), bananas (3.83 percent), lawn printed (2.33 percent), potatoes (2.31 percent), sugar (1.74 percent), fresh milk (1.37 percent), shirting (1.36 percent), long cloth (1.27 percent), georgette (1.24 percent), curd (1.12 percent) and wheat flour bag (1.03 percent).
The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs1751 per 50 kg bag which is 0.29 percent higher than last week’s price and 3.36 percent higher when compared to last year. Meanwhile, average Cement price was recorded at Rs.609 per 50-kg bag unchanged from previous week but 12.78 percent higher than prices last year. – TLTP