Karachi declared cheapest city of Pakistan

State Bank of Pakistan has declared Karachi as the cheapest city of Pakistan, according to Inflation Monitor-August 2017. As per the report, Lahore has emerged as the most expensive city in terms of cost of living.

Although the country’s largest and most developed city, Karachi, is losing some of its luster, it is still one of the top contributors to the national exchequer with a share of 40 percent in the sales tax revenue on domestic goods.

According to the report, Karachi's year-on-year consumer price index inflation (CPI) was in August recorded at 1.7 percent, as compared to previous year's 3.3 percent. "Among the five cities, the lowest inflation was observed in Karachi at 1.7 percent, while the highest inflation was observed in Lahore at 5.1 percent," the SBP said.

The low cost of living in the City of Lights could be attributed to the decrease in the inflation rate in Pakistan’s largest city over the past year.

Recently, consumers are in shock over the commodities prices, especially tomatoes which have increased on Thursday to Rs200 per kg in retail markets of the metropolis. Due to lack of any check on quality and price, the consumers are forced to buy unripe tomatoes at Rs200 per kg. As a result, many buyers have reduced purchase of tomatoes, limiting it to only required quantity.