ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended Aug 20, recorded an increase of 0.96 percent over the last week mainly due to a rise in prices of food items including chicken (4.22 percent), potatoes (2.32 percent), and gur (1.91 percent) and non-food item including electricity charges for quarter 1 (9.73 percent).
According to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI went up from 133.94 points during the week ended Aug 13, to 135.22 points in the week under review.
The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 8.50 percent with most of the items increased mainly due to increase in the prices of chilly powder (86.67 percent), potatoes (67.40 percent), moong (33.18 percent), mash (31.33 percent), sugar (25.96 percent), masoor (22.58 percent), tomatoes (21.78 percent), eggs (21.71 percent), bread (20.82 percent), wheat flour (18.55 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (18.21 percent), long cloth Gul Ahmed (17.35 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (16.64 percent), and gur (16.55 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the price of onions (37.09 percent), chicken (28.74 percent), diesel (19.49 percent), petrol (11.76 percent), and garlic (9.68 percent).
The weekly SPI covers 17 urban centers and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups. During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 20 (39.21 percent) items increased, 09 (17.64 percent) items decreased, and 22 (43.13 percent items remained constant, according to the provisional figures released by the PBS.
The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,733, from Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517, Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and above Rs44,175 per month increased by 0.93 percent, 1.28 percent, 0.88 percent, 0.66 percent, and 0.77 percent respectively.
The commodities, which recorded increase in their average price include electricity charges for first quarter per unit (9.73 percent), chicken farm broiler (4.22 percent), potatoes (2.32 percent), gur (1.91 percent), tea prepared ordinary (1.66 percent), garlic (0.97 percent), Georgette (0.62 percent), masoor (0.58 percent), sugar refined (0.42 percent), gram (0.36 percent), rice basmati broken (0.34 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.32 percent), tomatoes (0.21 percent), Sufi washing soap (0.20 percent), bread plain (0.18 percent), curd (0.14 percent), mutton (0.13 percent), milk fresh (0.12 percent), beef with bone (0.12 percent), and wheat flour bag (0.03 percent).
The commodities, which recorded decrease in their average price include eggs (7.14 percent), onions (3.82 percent), moong (1.04 percent), bananas (0.78 percent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (0.72 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib (0.71 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch (0.53 percent), LPG (0.50 percent), and mash (0.24 percent). Prices of the commodities that observed no change during the week under review include powdered milk, mustard oil, salt powdered, chilies powder national, tea Lipton Yellow Label, cooked beef, cooked daal, cigarettes Capstan, long cloth 57" Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, shirting, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, gents sandal, gents sponge chappal, ladies sandal, gas charges, firewood whole, energy saver Philips, match box, petrol super, hi-speed diesel, telephone call charges, and toilet soap.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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