KARACHI: The nation’s short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), noticed a marginal decline of 0.26% for the week ending on January 2, 2025, in keeping with knowledge launched by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
Year-on-year inflation for a similar week recorded a 3.97% enhance, reflecting persistent value pressures regardless of the weekly decline.
Among meals objects, tomato costs dropped considerably by 13.48%, adopted by reductions in electrical energy costs for Q1 (7.48%), potatoes (5.59%), and several other pulses, together with gram (-0.34%) and mash (-0.05%). Marginal declines have been additionally famous within the costs of eggs (-0.23%), garlic (-0.21%), LPG (-0.18%) and wheat flour (-0.09%).
Conversely, rooster costs surged by 10.28%, marking the best weekly enhance, adopted by onions (4.93%), bananas (1.68%) and diesel (1.18%). Other notable hikes included sugar (0.95%), pulse moong (1.08%) and vegetable ghee in 2.5kg and 1kg packs (up 0.53percentand 0.28%, respectively).
Of the 51 important objects monitored, costs for 18 objects (35.29%) elevated, 10 objects (19.61%) decreased, and 23 objects (45.1%) remained secure.
Year-on-year knowledge revealed tomatoes as the biggest contributor to inflation, with a 77.84% value enhance, adopted by important hikes in potatoes (66.63%), pulse gram (47.53%), and girls’ sandals (75.09%). However, substantial reduction was noticed within the costs of wheat flour (-36.12%), onions (-29.95%), and eggs (-15.78%).
The inflationary influence diversified throughout revenue teams, with the bottom quintile (month-to-month revenue as much as Rs17,732) experiencing a 0.51% weekly lower, whereas the best revenue group (month-to-month revenue above Rs44,175) recorded a modest 0.10% decline.
The knowledge underscores combined developments in important commodity costs, reflecting the interaction of seasonal components, provide chain dynamics and coverage measures aimed toward stabilising inflation.
According to knowledge launched on Wednesday, Pakistan’s inflation price cooled all the way down to 4.07% in December 2024 from 4.86% in November and a dramatic drop from 29.66% a 12 months earlier. This marked the bottom inflation price in practically seven years and the fifth straight month of single-digit inflation — a milestone final achieved in early 2021.
The first half of FY2024-25 (July-December) noticed common inflation plummet to 7.22%, a stark distinction to twenty-eight.79% throughout the identical interval final 12 months, in keeping with the PBS.
Economists cite secure commodity markets, improved provide chains, and a comparatively regular rupee as driving components, although additionally they credit score a “base impact” from final 12 months’s excessive inflation charges.
