Pakistan’s consumer inflation (CPI) rate jumped to 9.1 percent on a year-on-year basis in March 2021 compared to an increase of 8.7 percent in the previous month and 10.2 percent in March 2020, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to the monthly review on price indices by the PBS on a month-on-month basis, the CPI increased by 0.4 percent in March 2021 compared to an increase of 1.8 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.02 percent in March 2020.
The PBS recorded 9.1% inflation rate three days after Prime Minister Imran Khan sacked Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on charges of not controlling inflation.
The National Consumer Price Index for March 2021 increased by 0.36 percent over February 2021 and increased by 9.05 percent over the corresponding month of the last year, i.e., March 2020.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation increased by 0.36pc mainly due to an increase in prices of cooking oil, sugar, wheat, pulses, petroleum products, and electricity charges for the end consumers. Non-food inflation has steadily been on the rise for the past few months due to higher energy prices.
The CPI inflation urban increased by 8.7 percent on a year-on-year basis in March 2021 compared to an increase of 8.6 percent in the previous month and 9.3 percent in March 2020.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.3 percent in March 2021 compared to an increase of 2.3 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.1 percent compared to March 2020.
The CPI inflation rural increased by 9.5 percent on a year-on-year basis in March 2021 compared to an increase of 8.8 percent in the previous month and 11.7 percent in March 2020.
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On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.5 percent in March 2021 compared to the previous month’s increase of 1.1 percent and a decrease of 0.1 percent in March 2020.
The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) inflation on a YoY increased by 18.7 percent in March 2021 compared to an increase of 11.9 percent a month earlier and an increase of 11.8 percent in March 2020.
On a MoM basis, it increased by 5.7 percent in March 2021 compared to an increase of 3.1 percent a month earlier and a decrease of 0.3 percent in March 2020.
Measured by non-food non-energy urban increased by 6.3 percent on a YoY basis in March 2021, compared to an increase of 6.4 percent in the previous month and 7.4 percent in March 2020.
On a MoM basis, it increased by 0.2 percent in March 2021 compared to an increase of 1.1 percent in the previous month and an increase of 0.3 percent in the corresponding month of last year, i.e., March 2020.
Measured by non-food non-energy Rural increased by 7.3 percent on a YoY basis in March 2021 compared to an increase of 7.7 percent in the previous month and 9.4 percent in March 2020.
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The MoM basis main contributors, which varied from the previous month and contributed to urban CPI among food are eggs (12.96 percent), fruits (10.00 percent), potatoes (9.54 percent), chicken (6.58 percent), sugar (4.82 percent), tomatoes (4.67 percent), pulse mash (4.57 percent), pulse gram (4.39 percent), rice (1.61 percent) and wheat flour (1.46 percent) and decreased among onions (2.37 percent), dry fruits (2.19 percent), fish (1.78 percent) and vegetables (1.48 percent).
Among non-food which increased are cotton cloth (1.77 percent), vehicle accessories (1.56 percent), drugs and medicines (1.40 percent), washing soap/detergents/matchbox (1.33 percent), and plastic products (1.04 percent) and decreased among electricity charges (8.05 percent), liquefied hydrocarbons (6.84 percent), transport services (3.00 percent) and personal effects (2.78 percent).
On YoY, the top few commodities which varied from the previous year and contributed urban CPI among food are eggs (64.62 percent), chicken (40.73 percent), wheat (35.17 percent), condiments & spices (28.65 percent), sugar (23.47 percent), mustard oil (22.94 percent), pulse mash (19.53 percent), wheat flour (18.94 percent), vegetable ghee (17.46 percent), beans (16.20 percent) and cooking oil (15.25 percent) and decreased among onions (49.20 percent), vegetables (17.29 percent), potatoes (5.80 percent) and tomatoes (3.79 percent) and non-food, which increased include electricity charges (31.54 percent), footwear (16.21 percent), cotton cloth (15.82 percent), cleaning & laundering (13.20 percent), clinic fee (12.70 percent) and woolen readymade garments (12.08 percent) and decreased among liquefied hydrocarbons (11.01 percent).
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On a MoM basis, top commodities, which varied from the previous month and contributed to rural CPI among food items are eggs (15.00 percent), chicken (12.21 percent), potatoes (11.43 percent), fruits (6.08 percent), sugar (5.77 percent), besan (4.71 percent), pulse gram (3.89 percent), gram whole (2.53 percent), pulse mash (2.52 percent), pulse masoor (2.18 percent), vegetable ghee (1.58 percent), cooking oil (1.53 percent) and wheat flour(0.97 percent) and decreased in tomatoes (6.10 percent), fish (1.14 percent), condiments & spices (0.61 percent) and wheat (0.33 percent).
Among non-food which increased are woolen cloth (3.59 percent), cotton cloth (2.03 percent), plastic products (1.45 percent) and washing soaps, detergents & matchbox (1.41 percent) and decreased in electricity charges (8.05 percent), personal effects (3.53 percent), liquefied hydrocarbons (2.40 percent) and construction input items (0.54 percent).
