ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based inflation increased by 0.49 percent Week on Week (WoW) basis for the week ended August 20, mainly driven by higher prices of onions, which hiked by 14.17 percent, petrol by 3.77 percent, chicken by 3.35 percent, and garlic by 2 percent.
According to SPI data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) here on Friday, other items that recorded price increases included pulse gram, which hiked by 0.93 percent, prepared tea by 0.70 percent, Lipton tea by 0.34 percent, fresh milk by 0.17 percent, cooked daal by 0.15 percent, washing soap by 0.12 percent, cigarettes by 0.06 percent, and shirting by 0.01 percent.
On the other hand, major reductions were recorded in the prices of eggs, which went down by 5.78 percent, diesel by 5.15 percent, tomatoes by 4.99 percent), potatoes by 1.17 percent, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 1.04 percent, bananas by 0.91 percent, pulse moong by 0.56 percent, sugar by 0.24 percent, pulse masoor by 0.14 percent, and pulse mash by 0.14 percent.
READ MORE: Weekly SPI-based inflation up by 0.15pc
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 23 items, which constitute 45.10 percent of the SPI basket, recorded a hike; the prices of 10 items, which is 19.61 percent of the basket, recorded a reduction; and the prices of 18 items, or 35.29 percent of the basket, remained stable.
On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the SPI recorded an increase of 9.66 percent, driven by sharp rises in the prices of onions, which went up by 132.52 percent, tomatoes by 93.21 percent, wheat flour by 62.25 percent, LPG by 51.69 percent, Diesel by 33.08 percent), petrol by 27.65 percent, electricity for Q1 by 22.72 percent, bananas by 17.66 percent, chili powder by 16.37 percent, mutton by 15.98 percent, beef by 13.54 percent, and bread plain by 9.37 percent.
On a YoY basis, a reduction was recorded in the prices of potatoes, which fell by 30.01 percent, sugar by 19.10 percent, chicken by 17.68 percent, eggs by 17.41 percent, salt powder by 13.96 percent, pulse gram by 13.02 percent, pulse masoor by 12.29 percent, and Gur by 6.01 percent. Breaking down SPI by income groups, households with a monthly income of up to Rs17,732 saw a 0.38 percent increase, with SPI jumping up from 348.71 to 350.03 points. For the Rs17,733-22,888 income group, the SPI hiked by 0.41 percent, increasing from 349.48 to 350.90 points.
Households earning Rs22,889-29,517 saw a 0.40 percent increase, going up from 370.70 to 372.18 points, while the Rs29,518-44,175 bracket SPI went up by 0.45 percent from 357.78 to 359.39 points. The highest income group, Rs44,175 and above, recorded a 0.55 percent increase, taking SPI up from 357.31 to 359.26 points.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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