ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended July 8, 2021 recorded an increase of 0.07 percent over the last week due to increase in the prices of food items including tomatoes (11.51 percent), garlic (8.31 percent), onions (4.85 percent), sugar (2.60 percent), potatoes (2.04 percent), and eggs (1.67 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts, increase of 12.28 percent with most of the items increased mainly electricity for q1 (61.62 percent), chilies powder (37.29 percent), mustard oil (36.48 percent), gents sandal (33.37 percent), LPG (30.91 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (27.53 percent), gents sponge chappal (25.13 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (24.64 percent), cooking oil Dalda (24.21 percent), match box (23.44 percent), and eggs (23.35 percent), while a major decrease was observed in the prices of tomatoes (35.66 percent), moong (23.29 percent), potatoes (16.38 percent), garlic (4.07 percent), chicken (2.95 percent), salt (0.89 percent), and masoor (0.07 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 149.93 points during the week ended July 1, 2021 to 150.03 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 per month increased by 0.42 percent, 0.31 percent, 0.20 percent, 0.10 percent, and for above Rs44,175 it decreased by 0.04 percent, respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 23 (45.1 percent) items increased, nine (17.6 percent) items decreased, and 19 (37.3 percent) items remained constant, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.

The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include tomatoes (11.51 percent), garlic (8.31 percent), onions (4.85 percent), sugar (2.60 percent), potatoes (2.04 percent), eggs (1.67 percent), toilet soap (1.59 percent), gur (0.87 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.86 percent), long cloth 57" Gul Ahmed/Al Karam (0.79 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (0.75 percent), LPG (0.72 percent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (0.71 percent), cooked beef (0.60 percent), cooked daal (0.54 percent), energy saver Philips (0.47 percent), tea (0.34 percent), gram (0.32 percent), rice basmati broken (0.25 percent), curd (0.15 percent), milk fresh (0.15 percent), beef with bone (0.13 percent), and mutton (0.04 percent).

According to the PBS, the decrease was observed in the prices of chicken (12.97 percent), bananas (3.72 percent), moong (1.81 percent), maash (0.51 percent), masoor (0.34 percent), wheat flour bag 20kg (0.22 percent), powdered milk (0.07 percent), mustard oil (0.05 percent), and firewood whole 40kg (0.05 percent).

The prices of commodities which remained constant included rice IRRI-6/9 (Sindh/Punjab), bread plain, salt powdered, chilies powder, tea Lipton Yellow Label, cigarettes, shirting, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, Georgette, gents sandal Bata pair, gas charges petrol super, Hi-speed diesel, and telephone call charges.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021