ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended July 9, 2020 registered an increase of 0.98 percent for the combined income groups, mainly due to increase in prices of food items, ie, sugar (2.65 percent), tomatoes (43.3 percent), onion (10.6 percent) and chicken (1.71 percent).
According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the SPI went up from 132.32 points during the week that ended July 2, 2020 to 133.62 points in the week under review.
The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 11.02 percent with most of the items witnessing a raise particularly tomatoes (150.45 percent), chillies powder (82.36 percent), potatoes (76.32 percent), pulse moong (48.48 percent), eggs (41.48 percent), chicken (38.21 percent), pulse mash (36.67 percent), pulse masoor (27.32 percent), vegetable ghee 1Kg (25.02 percent), Veg. Ghee 2.5kg (24.15 percent), wheat flour bag (23.28 percent), gur (17.73 percent), and cooking oil 5kg (17.71 percent).
The weekly SPI covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.29 percent) items increased, 11 (21.56 percent) items decreased and 22 (43.13 percent) items remained constant.
The SPI for the lowest income group increased by 1.27 percent compared to the previous week. The index for the group stood at 139.99 points against 138.24 points in the previous week, according to provisional figures released by PBS.
The SPI for the consumption groups from Rs17,732 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517, Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and above Rs44,175 per month increased by 1.25 percent, 1.11 percent, 1.06 percent and 0.86 percent, respectively.
The commodities which recorded an increase in their average price include tomatoes (43.3 percent), potatoes (3.13 percent), onion (10.6 percent), sugar (2.65 percent), chilies powder (6.25 percent), chicken (1.71 percent), eggs (3.79 percent), chicken farm broiler live (1.71), beef with bone (0.98) percent), milk fresh (0.73), lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam (0.58 percent), mutton (0.28 percent), toilet soap (0.26 percent), rice basmati broken (0.22 percent), gur (0.17 percent), pulse gram (0.09 percent), long cloth (1.95 percent), shirting (1.88 percent) and georgette (1.8 percent).
The items which recorded decrease include bananas (5.22 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.50 percent), LPG cylinder (0.52), pulse moong (4.06 percent), vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.49 percent), cooking oil 5 Litre (0.74 percent), pulse mash (0.41 percent), wheat flour (0.64 percent), garlic (0.40 percent), pulse masoor (0.58 percent) and rice IRRI (0.3 percent).
Prices of the commodities that observed no change during the week under review include bread plain (small size), curd (dahi) loose, powdered milk, mustard oil, salt powdered, tea, cooked beef, cooked daal, tea prepared, cigarettes, gents sandal, gents sponge chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, firewood, energy saver, Sufi washing soap, match box, hi-speed diesel and telephone call charges.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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