ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended June 17, 2021 recorded an increase of 0.28 percent over the last week due to increase in the prices of food items including tomatoes (14.76 percent), chicken (6.28 percent), garlic (4.72 percent), petrol (1.89 percent), and diesel (1.60 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts increase of 14.52 percent with most of the items increased mainly chillies powder (65.21 percent), electricity for Q1 (61.62 percent), petrol (48.21 percent), diesel (40.04 percent), mustard oil (35.04 percent), gents sandal (33.37 percent), eggs (28.89 percent), gents sponge chappal (25.13 percent), match box (23.44 percent), and LPG (23.42 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the prices of moong (23.59 percent), garlic (19.59 percent), potatoes (17.56 percent), onions (8.07 percent), tomatoes (7.30 percent), and salt (0.89 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 147.51 points during the week ended June 10, 2021 to 147.92 percent

during the week under review.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,733, from Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517 and Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and for above Rs44,175 per month increased by 0.18 percent, 0.22 percent, 0.23 percent, 0.25 percent, and 0.32 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 21 (41.2 percent) items increased, nine (17.6 percent) items decreased, and 21 (41.2 percent) items remained constant, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.

The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include tomatoes (14.76 percent), chicken (6.28 percent), garlic (4.72 percent), potatoes (2.01 percent), petrol super (1.89 percent), Hi-speed diesel (1.60 percent), gur (1.08 percent), beef with bone (0.58 percent), energy saver Philips (0.56 percent), mutton (0.40 percent), tea prepared (0.38 percent), toilet soap (0.36 percent), cooked beef (0.32 percent) and vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.26 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.25 percent), rice basmati broken (0.25 percent), and cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (SN), 5 litre tin each (0.23 percent), and wheat flour bag 20kg (0.05 percent).

According to the PBS, decrease was observed in the price of bananas (7.75 percent), moong (1.85 percent), maash (1.26 percent), gram (1.19 percent), masoor (0.79 percent), mustard oil (0.38 percent), eggs (0.36 percent), LPG (0.29 percent), and sugar (0.18 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021