The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week that ended on 17 March 2022 recorded a major decrease of 1.37 percent due to a decline in the prices of food and non-food items, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 15.12 percent mainly due to an increase in prices of tomatoes (90.53 percent), LPG (73.18 percent), garlic (65.76 percent), mustard oil (58.57 percent), vegetable ghee 1 kg (55.16 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (50.75 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (49.90 percent), washing soap (39.17 percent), pulse masoor (37.23 percent), petrol (33.42 percent), beef (24.84 percent) and diesel (23.75 percent), while major decrease observed in the prices of chilies powder (37.44 percent), pulse moong (29.62 percent), eggs (18.49 percent), sugar (10.92 percent), potatoes (8.76 percent) and electricity charges for the first quarter (0.16 percent).
According to the latest data, the SPI went down from 171.41 percent during the week that ended on 10 March 2022 to 169.06 percent during the week under review.
The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs. 17,732 and Rs. 17,733 to Rs. 22,888, Rs. 22,889 to Rs. 29,517 and Rs. 29,518 to Rs. 44,175 and for above Rs. 44,175 decreased by 0.99 percent, 1.61 percent, 1.12 percent, 0.92 percent and 1.23 percent respectively.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 29 (56.86 percent) items increased, 09 (17.65 percent) items decreased and 13 (25.49 percent) items remained stable, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.
The commodities, which recorded an increase in their average prices, included vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (6.25 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5 kg tin each (4.56 percent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brands, five liter tin each (3.62 percent), lawn printed Gul Ahmed/al-Karam (3.14 percent), shirting (2.57 percent), onions (2.06 percent), georgette (2 percent), cooked beef (1.98 percent), long cloth 57″ Gul Ahmed/al-Karam (1.82 percent), bananas (1.76 percent), match box (1.60 percent), eggs (1.39 percent), mustard oil (1.27 percent), mutton (1.03 percent), pulse moong (0.97 percent), salt powdered (0.92 percent), sufi washing soap (0.73 percent), pulse masoor (0.58 percent), rice basmati broken (0.54 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.53 percent), cooked daal [pulses] (0.49 percent), tea prepared (0.35 percent), wheat flour bag 20 kg (0.29 percent), tea Lipton Yellow Label (0.23 percent), beef with bone (0.23 percent), milk fresh (0.22 percent), gur [jaggery] (0.18 percent), curd (0.10 percent) and energy saver (0.06 percent).
The commodities, which recorded a decrease in their prices during the period under review, include tomatoes (12.04 percent), electricity charges for the first quarter per unit (9.81 percent), chicken (8.39 percent), garlic (2.04 percent), LPG (1.58 percent), sugar (0.49 percent), potatoes (0.41 percent), pulse gram (0.31 percent) and pulse mash (0.14 percent).
The commodities, the prices of which remained unchanged during the period, include rice bread plain, powdered milk, chilies powder, cigarettes Capstan, gents sandal Bata pair, gents sponge chappal Bata pair, ladies sandal Bata pair, gas charges, firewood whole, petrol Super, hi-speed diesel, telephone call charges and toilet soap.
