Essential Commodity Prices Declined in 2nd Week of July: PBS

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week, ending on July 16, 2020, registered a decrease of 0.01 percent for the combined income group mainly due to a decline in prices of food items including tomatoes (16.58 percent), wheat flour (7.97 percent), pulse moong (4.69 percent) and 5-liter cooking oil (0.28 percent)

According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI went down from 132.62 points during the previous week to 133.61 points in the week under review.

The year on year trend depicts an increase of 10.29 percent with most of the prices increasing mainly chili powder (82.36 percent), potatoes (78.22 percent), tomatoes (77.63 percent), pulse moong (41.51 percent), eggs (37.08 percent), pulse mash (34.96 percent), chicken (29.32 percent), pulse masoor (25.52 percent), veg ghee 1Kg (24.77 percent), Veg Ghee 2.5kg (23.53 percent), long cloth (18.11 percent), gur (17.37 percent), Sufi washing soap (17.28 percent) and sugar (17.15 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the price of diesel (18.08 percent), onions (18.03 percent), petrol (11.23 percent), electricity for Q1 (0.80 percent) and garlic (0.41 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 23 (45.09 percent) items increased, decreasing for 10 items (19.60 percent) and remaining the same for 18 items (32.14 percent).

The SPI for the lowest income group decreased by 0.39 percent compared to the previous week. The index for the group stood at 139.45 points against 139.99 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 decreased by 0.32 percent, 0.20 percent, 0.09 percent and 0.86 percent respectively while for above Rs. 44,175 it increased by 0.14 percent.

The commodities which recorded a decrease in their average price include tomatoes (16.58 percent), salt powdered (0.89 percent), LPG 11.67 kg Cylinder (0.24 percent), wheat flour (7.97 percent), pulse masoor (0.64), pulse moong (4.69), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.32 percent), bananas (2.25 percent), cooking oil 5 Litre (0.28 percent) and pulse mash (1.50 percent).

The commodities which recorded an increase in their average price include garlic (3.32 percent), broken basmati rice (1.66 percent), long cloth 57″ (2 percent), sugar (2.84 percent), tea (1.54 percent), lawn printed (2 percent), eggs (2.83 percent), mutton (1.5 percent), shirting (1.31 percent), potatoes (2.22 percent), mustard oil (1.09 percent), curd (2.04 percent), milk fresh (1.04 percent), beef (1.78 percent), onions (1.01 percent).

Prices of the commodities that observed no change during the week under review include bread plain (small size), vegetable ghee dalda/habib or other superior quality ghee, chili powder national, tea Lipton yellow label, cooked daal at an average price per plate, gents sandal Bata pair, gents sponge chappal Bata pair, ladies sandal Bata pair, electricity charges, gas charges, firewood whole, Philips energy saver electric bulb, Sufi washing soap, matchbox, petrol super, hi-speed diesel, telephone call charges, and toilet soap.