The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended October 7, 2021, recorded an increase of 1.21 percent, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The increase was mainly due to an increase in the prices of food items including chicken (17.12 percent), potatoes (5.89%), garlic (3.70%), Lipton tea (1.98%), wheat flour bag (1.97%), tomatoes (1.83%) and non-food items including LPG (7.73%), petrol (3.20%), and diesel (1.59%),

The year on year trend depicts an increase of 12.94 percent, with most of the items increased, electricity for Q1 (57.92%, chicken (52.28%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (40.87%), mustard oil (39.90%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (39.34%), cooking oil 5 liters (37.97%), chilies powdered (33.43%), gents sandal (33.37%, washing soap (25.21%), gents sponge chappal (25.13%) and petrol (22.22%), while major decrease observed in the prices of tomatoes (56.71%), onions (31.66%), pulse moong (30.34%), potatoes (24.37%) and pulse mash (0.47%).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 157.04 percent during the week ended September 30, 2021, to 158.94 percent during the week under review. The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs. 17,733, Rs. 17,733 to Rs. 22,888, Rs. 22,889 to Rs. 29,517, Rs. 29,518 to Rs. 44,175 and for above Rs. 44,175 increased by 0.88 percent, 1.03 percent, 1.08 percent, 1.17 percent, and 1.31 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 22 (43.13%) items increased, 08 (15.68%) items decreased and 21 (41.18%) items remained stable, said the PBS in weekly SPI data. The commodities, which recorded an increase in their average prices include chicken (17.12%), LPG (7.73%), potatoes (5.89%), garlic (3.70%), petrol (3.20%), tea Lipton yellow label 190 gm packet each (1.98%), wheat flour bag 20 kg (1.97%), sufi washing soap (1.94%), gur (1.84%), tomatoes (1.83%), mustard oil (1.60%), hi-speed diesel (1.59%), tea prepared (0.52%), sugar (0.44%), cooked beef (0.41%), vegetable ghee dalda/habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.37%), vegetable ghee dalda/habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (0.34%), rice basmati broken (0.25%), rice irri-6/9 (0.14%), georgette (0.07%), milk fresh (0.04%) and mutton (0.03%).

The commodities which recorded a decrease in their prices during the period under review include eggs (2.66%), bananas (2.09%), onions (1.62%), pulse moong (1.23%), chilies powder national 200 gm packet each (1.12%), pulse masoor (0.69%), pulse mash (0.49%) and pulse gram (0.47%).

Source: Pro Pakistani