The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week, ending July 9, 2020, registered an increase of 0.98 percent for the combined income group.
According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI went up from 132.32 points last week to 133.62 points in the week under review.
The year on year trend depicts an increase of 11.02 percent with prices for most of the items increasing including tomatoes (150.45 percent), chili powder (82.36 percent), potatoes (76.32 percent), pulse moong (48.48 percent), eggs (41.48 percent), chicken (38.21 percent), pulse mash (36.67 percent), pulse masoor (27.32 percent), vegetable ghee 1Kg (25.02 percent), Veg. Ghee 2.5kg (24.15 percent), wheat flour bag (23.28 percent), gur (17.73 percent), and cooking oil 5kg (17.71 percent).
The weekly SPI covers 17 urban centers and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.29 percent) items increased, 11 (21.56 percent) items decreased and 22 (43.13 percent) items remained constant.
The SPI for the lowest income group up to Rs. 17,732 increased by 1.27 percent compared to the previous week. The index for the group stood at 139.99 points against 138.24 points in the previous week, according to provisional figures released by PBS.
The SPI for the consumption groups from Rs. 17,732 to Rs. 22,888, Rs. 22,889 to Rs. 29,517, Rs. 29,518 to Rs. 44,175 and above Rs. 44,175 per month also increased by 1.25 percent, 1.11 percent, 1.06 percent and 0.86 percent respectively.
The commodities which recorded an increase in their average price include tomatoes (43.3 percent), potatoes (3.13 percent), onion (10.6 percent), sugar (2.65 percent), chilies powder (6.25 percent), chicken (1.71 percent), eggs (3.79 percent), chicken farm broiler live (1.71), beef with bone (0.98) percent), milk fresh (0.73), lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam (0.58 percent), mutton (0.28 percent), toilet soap (0.26 percent), broken basmati rice (0.22 percent), gur (0.17 percent), pulse gram (0.09 percent), long cloth (1.95 percent), shirting (1.88 percent) and georgette (1.8 percent).
The items which recorded decrease include; bananas (5.22 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.50 percent), LPG cylinder (0.52), pulse moong (4.06 percent), vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.49 percent), cooking oil 5 Litre (0.74 percent), pulse mash (0.41 percent), wheat flour (0.64 percent), garlic (0.40 percent), pulse masoor (0.58 percent) and rice IRRI (0.3 percent).
Prices of the commodities that observed no change during the week under review include bread plain (small size), curd (dahi) loose, powdered milk, mustard oil, salt powdered, tea, cooked beef, cooked daal, tea prepared, cigarettes, gents sandal, gents sponge chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, firewood, energy saver, Sufi washing soap, matchbox, hi-speed diesel, and telephone call charges.
