ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended October 1, 2020, recorded an increase of 0.71 percent over the last week due to rise in prices of food items i.e. onions (21.10 percent), tomatoes (9.85 percent), chicken (6.34 percent), and eggs (2.95 percent).
According to the latest data, released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI went up from 138.03 points during the week ended September 24, 2020, to 139.01 points during the week under review.
The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 9.43 percent with most of the items increased mainly chilies powder (86.31 percent), tomatoes (72 percent), potatoes (63.95 percent), moong (42.58 percent), mash (34.99 percent), eggs (34.77 percent), sugar (30.82 percent), masoor (25.03 percent), bread (19.41 percent), gur (18.71 percent), match box (18.03 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (17.75 percent), washing soap 250 gm (17.23 percent), mustard oil (16.18 percent), and vegetable ghee 2.5kg (15.75 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the price of diesel (18.03 percent), chicken (14.12 percent), the LPG (12.90 percent), garlic (9.91 percent), onion (8.93 percent), and petrol (8.11 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 24 (47.06 percent) items increased, three (5.8 percent) items decreased, and 24 (47.06 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 0.85 percent, 0.82 percent, 0.77 percent, 0.75 percent, and 0.64 percent, respectively.
The commodities, which recorded increase in their average price include onions (21.10 percent), tomatoes (9.85 percent), chicken (6.34 percent), eggs (2.95 percent), garlic (2.03 percent), potatoes (1.46 percent), moong (1.33 percent), LPG (0.79 percent), powdered milk (0.77 percent), gur (0.75 percent), vegetable ghee (0.53 percent), bread plain (0.51 percent), sugar refined (0.34 percent), mustard oil (0.26 percent), vegetable ghee (0.25 percent), rice basmati broken (0.21 percent), Energy Saver (0.19 percent), gram (0.19 percent), wheat flour bag (0.19 percent), beef with bone (0.16 percent), cooking oil (0.08 percent), firewood (0.06 percent), and masoor (0.05 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.04 percent).
The commodities, which recorded decrease in their average price, include hi-speed diesel per litre (2.28 percent), bananas (1.94 percent), and mash (0.20 percent).
Prices of the commodities that observed no change during the week under review include mutton, milk fresh, curd, salt powdered, chilies powder, tea, cooked beef, cooked daal, tea prepared, cigarettes, long cloth 57" Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, shirting, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, Georgette, gents sandal, gents sponge chappal, ladies sandal, electricity charges, gas charges, Sufi washing soap, match box, petrol super, telephone call charges, and toilet soap.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020