Monthly inflation inches up 5.02pc in May

ISLAMABAD: Consumer Price Index (CPI) on year-on-year basis during May 2017 witnessed an increase of 5.02 per cent as compared to the same month of the last year.

On month-on-month basis, the inflation was recorded at a nominal increase of 0.01 per cent in May 2017 as compared to April 2017, Chief Statistician Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Asif Bajwa presenting data of monthly inflation figures here Thursday during a press conference said.

According to the data, average CPI based inflation during first 11 months of the current fiscal year (July-May) increased by 4.18 per cent as compared to the same period of previous year.

The PBS collects the retail and the wholesale prices and computes the CPI and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on monthly basis while the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) is calculated on weekly basis.

In May 2017, the WPI increased by 0.20 percent while SPI decreased by 0.89 percent, according to the data.

The non food and non energy core inflation during May 2017 was observed at 5.5 percent as compared to May 2016, during which it was recorded at 4.6 percent.

The trimmed core inflation has been observed at 4.8 percent in May 2017 as compared to May 2016, the data revealed.

On year-on-year basis, the top few items that witnessed increase in prices in May 2017 compared to the same month of last year included potatoes (70.09%0, tomatoes (59.28%), Dettol (47.98%), cocumber (43.05%), muskmelon (37.28%), apple (28.19%), mango (26.03%), watermelon (24.45%), tea (24.13%) and gram whole (21.42%).

The top few items that witnessed decrease in prices in May 2017 compared to May 2016 included pulse mash (24.48%), pulse moong (17.98%), pulse masoor (14.56%), onion (9.58%), cardamom large (8.7%), chicken 7.4%), sugar (6.82%), chillies powder (5.45%), and pulse gram (5.32%).

Replying to a question regarding the recently completed population and house census in the country, Asif Bajwa said the process was held smoothly across the country.

However, he said only few areas of the country were left unattended due to security and weather conditions.

"As many as 113 blocks of Datta Khel area of North Waziristan were left due to security situation while 40 blocks of an area of Gilgit Baltistan was left unattended due to bad weather condition", he added.

Asif Bajwa added that as soon as the situation becomes conducive, the census teams would be sent to the areas to conduct the process.

To another query, he said that data of census would be finalized in four months, however the government would announce complete result of the census after a year.