State Bank of Pakistan has revealed an interesting set of data through its Inflation Monitor report for June 2016. According to their findings, Abbottabad has become the most expensive city in Pakistan.
The Inflation Monitor records data for 40 cities and ranks them based on inflation rates on different commodities.
Abbottabad witnessed the highest inflation rate during the past month. A year-on-year inflation rate of 8.8 percent was observed in the general inflation category.
The stats include a 4.4 percent inflation on food items and 11.8 percent on non-food items.
High inflation rates were recorded in some other cities as well. Abbottabad was followed by Turbat with 6.0 percent inflation, Faisalabad with 5.5 percent, Jhang with 5.4 percent and Karachi reportedly had an inflation rate of 4.7 percent.
During the same period, Dadu, a small city in Sindh, secured the title of being the cheapest city in the country. It recorded no inflation at all. Food inflation was negative 1.4 percent and inflation rate on non-food items was 0.9 percent in June.
Dadu is followed by Hyderabad with 0.1 percent, Lahore with 0.8 percent, D.I Khan with 1.9 percent and Peshawar reported an inflation of 1.2 percent.
Among federal and provincial capitals (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar), Lahore had the least inflation rate due to a 1.4 percent reduction in food item prices while non-food items stood at 2.7 percent. Karachi was the most expensive with 3.2 percent and 5.7 percent on food and non-food items respectively. The inflation rates were generally below the country’s average rate in all capitals except Karachi.
Overall inflation was recorded as 3.2 percent for June 2016. However, SBP’s new monetary policy predicts an average inflation between 4.5-5.5 percent during the next fiscal year. The results will still be dependent on oil prices and fiscal slippages.